New Girls
by cuddles1234XD
Summary: 4 females come to the zoo and change things for the guys in ways they never saw coming. It gets faster at chapter 28 the beginin is a bit...unorganized. sry bout that  :D
1. the arrival

Authors note. I saw people making these stories so I want to make one of my own.

Enjoy!

"Skipper, you really shouldn't be doing this." Kowalski warned. Skipper was up in the ceiling of Kowalski's lab looking for something. Kowalski had stored many useless unstable inventions up there. He was going to get rid of them next spring. "You could get hurt."

"Come on Kowalski." Skipper replied casually. "Do you know how many times I've been hit with or blown up by one of your little inventions? I think half of the ones that are up here have sparked at me already. You _will_ be getting rid of these correct?"

Kowalski knew that was coming. "Yes Skipper, I was going to get rid of them."

"Good."

Kowalski's lab was underground. Obviously. And so was the little space above it. The penguins had made the space to get rid of Kowalski's hazardous inventions that were spread out around the HQ. But they also stored other things up there. That's what Skipper was looking for. He wanted to show them something. But he couldn't find it. It was a penguinized bow. Specially made by a friend of Johnsons. But Skipper could never remember the girls name. Yes it was a girl. Not the chinstrap twins that they had fallen for. She was actually against it. Anyway Skipper had been shocked many times already. And was getting annoyed.

"Kowalski! Why are there so many broken inventions up here! You're supposed to clean this area out once a year!" Skipper yelled down to Kowalski, as he got shocked, yet again.

"Sorry, I haven't had time." Kowalski argued. He didn't exactly want Skipper to get shocked. He didn't even want him to go up there. Mostly because it was a total mess. The whole area above Kowalski's lab just looked like a very long, very wide vent on the inside. A vent that was filled with clutter. Skipper hated clutter. He liked being able to find things without going on a scavenger hunt.

"I think you've had time Kowalski. You just didn't want to do it." Skipper countered.

"I.. well. Fine I didn't want to do it. And it slipped my mind. I said sorry." Kowalski admitted. Skipper could get anything out of the three of them. But he didn't abuse his power. That's a good thing.

"Actions speak louder than words Kowalski."

"Famous last words Skipper." Kowalski hated Skippers' ability to get information from people. It did prove useful. But it was sure annoying.

Skipper didn't say anything. He was both confused and surprised. He didn't expect Kowalski to say something like that. He had expected an 'Ok' or a mumble. But not that. He was surprised that Kowalski had the guts to say it. He didn't like the fact that they were sometimes afraid of him. So what Kowalski did both annoyed him and relieved him.

He jumped down out of the vent-like area and walked up to Kowalski. Skipper was short. In fact he was only taller than private, mort, and the smaller animals that inhabited the zoo. But he was powerful. And intimidating. And as much as he looked like he was about to kill you, harmless unless you ticked him off. Sure he was tense, and paranoid. But he was trustworthy. And like everyone else in the zoo. He had multiple attitudes. He was really just a big steal teddy bear.

But right now he just looked up at Kowalski, with no expression at all. Well he did look sort of pissed. And he had black spots all over his body. Well Kowalski could only see the minor burns on Skippers white feathers. They really weren't even bad enough to call burns.

"Actions speak louder than words." He repeated "Clean it." He didn't like the thought of so many unstable objects in one area, ceiling. Especially one above a space where Kowalski spent most of his free time. He blew himself up enough with all of his latest failed inventions.

"I said I would." Kowalski had just been re-wording his response to Skipper. "You didn't find it?" Skipper usually found what he was looking for.

"It's too cluttered up there. If I wasn't looking for anything it would be fine for you to clean it come spring. But there's something important up there. And I don't want it to be blown to pieces. So the next time you get the chance, which should be in five minutes, clean out your inventions. Anything you don't recognize or need, throw out." Skipper had told Kowalski to clean it several times. Looked like he didn't listen. That annoyed Skipper.

Kowalski wasn't a fan of cleaning.

"Skippah!" Private shouted from the main room.

"What is it private?" Skipper asked walking into the room. He had said all that was needed to say to Kowalski. He wanted to ask him something but Private sounded startled. A little scared. His mind was good at switching topics in a millisecond.

"Alice just put four crates on the island." He informed.

"Kowalski get in here!" Skipper called. Kowalski was still in the lab.

"What?" he asked walking up to Skipper.

"Tlaba Robocata!" Rico shouted.

"Rico I'm sure they weren't robots. They would be bigger if they were robots." Skipper replied.

That response was unexpected. Kowalski expected Skipper to go into full commando mode. But he seemed more curious. That was a welcomed change. But it was unexpected. It was a little startling for Kowalski to hear that. They were both surprising each other today. Skipper and Kowalski.

"So what are they?" Private asked innocently.

Skipper walked towards the ladder. "Hopefully, nothing too bad." Then he went up to the top of the Habitat. The others followed.

Sitting in front of them were four crates. Each a different size. Skipper stared at them for a minute. He couldn't figure out what was inside. The crates were too small to be robots or any other creations that Blowhole would send their way. And Hans wasn't smart enough to do something like this. So what was it?

"Kowalski? What do you make of this?" Skipper asked, confused.

"Well they could be other penguins, the crates are small enough." He suggested.

"Hmm. More penguins?" Skipper mumbled. Mostly to himself. But the others could hear him.

"Maybe they're friendly." Private stated. He liked friendly guests. The thought was pleasant too.

"Maybe, but we can't be too sure. Or relaxed." Skipper responded. "Stay alert men."

They got into fighting stances. Skipper walked up to the first crate. It was smaller than two of the others but not the smallest of them all. He knocked on the crate. Nothing happened. This confused him. If he was shoved in a crate he would want to get out. He didn't exactly like crates. Or cages.

Then the crate started to shake Skipper backed away and ready for an attack. But the crated became still again. A scream came from the crate. An aggravated scream. Private relaxed his position. "I don't think they can get out Skippa." He stated.

Skipper walked back up to the crate an analyzed it. The sides were held together with fifteen nails on each side. That would make breaking free difficult.

"Rico! Crowbar!" Skipper commanded. Rico burped out a crowbar and tossed it to skipper. He caught it and started to pry open the crate. He placed the crowbar in the top corner of the crate and pulled down. After putting his feet near the top and _really_ pulling down the crate finally burst open. Leaving him on the floor under the wall of the crate.

He pushed it off, got up and walked to the now open crate.

"You didn't have to do that." A voice, female, and strong, rang out. "I could've gotten out by myself." She obviously didn't like his help.

"You sounded pretty frustrated to me." Skipper retorted. He had just helped her. Why was she choosing to be difficult?

"Frustration is overcome by persistence and determination." The voice countered.

Of course, Skipper understood this completely. She was right. But there was always something to be said. Skipper wanted to learn more about this girl. She so far seemed to have almost the same mindset as he did. This only made him more curious. And of course he was good at this game.

"True, but if you do not have persistence and determination you will fall victim to frustration. As you did." Skipper argued. She did scream. He wasn't lying.

"No. I did not _fall victim_ to frustration. I was just getting tired of this stupid box!" She explained.

"Uh huh. Sure you did." Skipper replied. "But if you are _so_ tired of the crate, then why haven't you come out yet?"

"Because I now have fresh air. I don't need to come out."

"So you're going to stay in that box the entire time you're here?" Skipper asked skeptically.

"Why do you care?" she asked annoyed. She didn't like being questioned.

"Because, it doesn't sound very… comfortable to me. It was just a question. If you want to stay in the box, go ahead. Knock yourself out." Skipper replied casually.

By now the guys had relaxed their position. They were still alert and would be able to snap back into their fighting stance if they needed to. But for now they really had nothing to worry about. But they were confused. Why was Skipper so relaxed? He was usually the most paranoid about these things.

She didn't reply.

The other box's started to shake. And then stopped.

"Do you want them to stay in the crates too?" Skipper asked.

She hesitated. "No."

Skipper walked towards the crowbar.

"I can help them." She said forcefully. "Don't touch the boxes."

Skipper had the crowbar in his flippers. He just stared at the crate. He could see a figure in it now. The sun had raised slightly, putting more light in the crate. She wasn't tall. She was around Skippers' height. She looked healthy, strong too. She could hold her own in a fight by the looks of her. But there was a special beauty to her. She was, well, beautiful. But she was tough. It seemed like if someone started to hit on her she would be able to throw him across the room. That was different. Most girls that Skipper had met, except for Marlene, Didn't like doing… well anything. They always wanted help. This girl wanted no help what so ever. And she looked aggravated too.

"Go ahead." Skipper said a little annoyed. But mostly still curious.

But she didn't come out. She didn't even take a single step towards the opening. That was odd. If she wanted to get them out herself you'd think that she would come out and open the crates no?

"Well? Are you going to move or am I going to open the crates?" Skipper pressed. Impatiently. She was definitely and odd character, so far.

"Why do you want to help huh? Why do you even care huh? What, are you going to take us s prisoners? Make us your slaves?" She asked, annoyed, and rather rudely too.

"What I can't have a heart?" Skipper asked. He was actually offended by those questions. "First we can't take you prisoners here it's too out in the open. Second we don't take prisoners if we don't need to. Third, we do not like slaves and are 100% against slavery. Oh and one more thing, there is no way your little friends are going to get out of those crates without outside help. So are you going to pry them open or are we going to do that?" Skipper replied. And truthfully, he didn't sound very polite either.

She just stood there in the crate dumfounded. Where did this guy get off talking to her like that? Who the heck did he think he was? But then again he had a point. That aggravated her. She didn't like to be told what to do. But she couldn't figure out if he was commanding her, or simply just asking a question.

That's when she took a good look at this guy. He looked strong, for a penguin. But then again she would probably look the same to him. He was definitely the leader of this group. He was the only one who talked to her. No fear at all. She wasn't exactly a girl that boys talked to. This did not bother her. She wasn't a fan of boys'. Most of them were idiots. But this one wasn't. He had a certain perspective, that she could see so far, that made him seem more…not smart, well not science smart. He seemed to know lessons. Life lessons. Or maybe she was making that up. But he didn't look like a genius to her. He looked like he was getting impatient though.

Then the tallest crate started shaking again.

"HELLO!" Another female. He voice was less strong. It was annoyed, sure. But weaker. Not a week weak voice but like Kowalski. He didn't have a strong voice. It was deep but week. Private was the one with the weak weak voice. So she was somewhere in between. Like Kowalski. But she almost had a sweet normal girl tone. Surprise surprise.

"Ya know this really sucks!" She shouted. "I hear talking so I know you're out there. And if you'd be so kind will you GET ME OUT OF THIS STUPID BOX!" Yup she wasn't happy. Not one bit.

"I guess you guys aren't fans of boxes huh?" Skipper stated.

"We've come a long way ok." The smaller one said. She was still annoyed. But now she was curious, too.

"Fine." Skipper said flatly. He tossed the crowbar at the base of the first girls crate. "Open up sister."

"I am not your sister mister." She replied a little startled at the comment.

"It's just a saying calm down." Skipper explained.

"What's your name sassy pants." She asked with attitude.

"Ladies first." Skipper answered. He wasn't giving her his mane until he got hers. He realized how clever that sounded a few seconds after he said it. He didn't mean to sound clever. It was just the first response that came to mind.

Private Kowalski and Rico were still standing by the fish bowl. They hadn't moved since the crate was opened. Skippers' conversation with this girl was, entertaining for them.

"Clever. It's Destiny." She said confidently. "Captin Destiny."

"That's nice. The names Skipper." Skipper informed. "Major."

Skipper smiled. He did her one better. But he didn't like using ranks. He just called Private private because he didn't tell them his name. Didn't tell anyone his name. Personally Skipper didn't like using ranks because it turned into a competitive thing. And it could be avoided so Skipper avoided it. "No ranks needed here. No one has a rank here. Well almost no one."

"Then what do you go by? Who is the leader? Who gives the orders?" Destiny asked confused.

"Here we go on trust. We listen to what we think is logical. And it's a total choice here. Only three rules. Don't create trouble. Or don't try to. Be in your habitat from opening to closing and respect is always smiled upon." Skipper explained. "The rest is your choice."

"So what are you? The peace keeper?" Destiny asked skeptically.

"You could say that." Skipper replied.

"That's all good and nice. Now can you get me out now?" the penguin inside the tall box asked. "I'm pretty sure I asked you to do this ten minutes ago."

"Hold on Kiki. Patience." Destiny sighed.

"I ran out of patience about nine minutes ago girl." The penguin, Kiki? Replied.

She sounded smart. Skipper didn't know why, but he had a feeling that this Kiki would be a smart penguin. Oh great that's just what he needed. Two geniuses. It was a good time to estimate how many times he might puke this week.

Destiny walked out of the crate and picked up the crowbar.

First thought that went through Skippers' mind…

Wow.

How was it? R&R pwease!

That's the first chapt.!


	2. the first night

Thanx for the review! ^.^ Here's Chapter two!

Destiny Got Kiki's crate open after a few minutes of trying. She was strong. Skipper didn't think the guys could open the crate as fast as she did. He could of course. But surprisingly it still surprised him.

Kiki came out right away. She was tall. Not incredibly tall but taller than Destiny. She was a little shorter than Kowalski. Only by a tenth of an inch though. She had what looked to be glasses. And she had striking green eyes. They looked like they belonged to a cat. She was thin and looked shy for how she had acted a few minutes ago.

Kowalski thought she was beautiful.

"Oh um hi." She said shyly.

"Oh come on. You can't be intimidated by them." Destiny barked.

Kowalski thought that she had a perfect reason to be shy. She was new after all. Whoever said that you couldn't be shy when you are new?

"Sorry." Kiki apologized shamefully. She looked down at the ground. She didn't like being new. She hated how people always looked at you when you were new. How everyone stared. She didn't like being the center of attention. That was her weak point. She fell apart when she was put in the spotlight.

Skipper let his male instinct turn on for only a minute. Then he shook himself lose from it. Destiny was beautiful, and strong in both physical mental strength. But that might be a mask. Skipper had been fooled to many times to make that mistake again. Truthfully he wouldn't let his heart free if it would save his life. It had broken to many times in his life. He didn't know if he could put it back together if he broke it again. That and she still hadn't gained his trust.

"Look Kiki they aren't going to kill you." Destiny told her. She was obviously annoyed. Skipper could hear it in her voice.

Rico had drunk a whole 20 liter bottle of coke a cola that morning. He could feel his stomach rumbling. He burped and with it came the plasma blaster that Kowalski had made last month.

Kiki screamed. "You said they wouldn't kill us!" She said fearfully.

Kowalski turned around. "Rico. I've been looking for that." He said. He went over and picked it up.

Kiki hid behind Destiny, who rolled her eyes.  
Skipper knew how she felt. Kowalski had the same fear problem. Or had the same fear problem. Skipper helped him get over that last year. He was glad that he did.

"I told you not to swallow my plasma converter ray" Kowalski told Rico. He did tell Rico not to eat it. "It could've killed you!"

The two people that you wanted to listen to were Kowalski and Skipper. They were unintentionally dangerous.

Kiki walked out from behind Destiny. "Wait, did you say plasma converter ray?"

"Well yes. I made it last month." Kowalski informed proudly.

"Really? I've been trying to make one of those for the past year." Kiki said in aw.

"Kiki! Do not get all giddy with him." Destiny barked. She didn't like what was happening. These boys weren't going to make them soft.

"But-"

"No buts! Now help me with the others." Destiny ordered.

"Yes ma'am" Kiki replied sadly. She like this guy. Whoever he was. He was nice. She didn't know what Destiny was worrying about.

"Ok. You girls do that." Skipper stated. He turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Destiny ask forcefully.

"Why do you care?" Skipper asked. Mocking the question that she had asked him before.

"Nevermind." She mumbled.

Skipper went into the base. New comers. None of them were good. They always caused trouble. The guys followed him in.

"Skipper?" Kowalski asked.

"Hmm… what Kowalski?" Skipper was pacing. This Destiny seemed like a threat. She wasn't exactly a cheerful girl.

"What should we do?"

Skipper just stared at him. He had something that he could be doing. That he should be doing. Why was he asking?

"Well if I were you I would start cleaning." Skipper replied.

"Do I have to do that now?" Kowalski moaned.

"Yes you do. And quit moaning. It won't do you any good." Skipper replied.

Then the girls came in.

Kowalski stared at Kiki. Man was she beautiful.

"Go!" Skipper shouted.

Kowalski went off to start the long task of cleaning.

Destiny looked around. She was surprised. They really couldn't take them prisoner. From the looks of their little home here, the danger act was a bluf.

"So where do we start?" She asked.

"Where I tell you to." Skipper replied. She wasn't about to take over. Over his dead body.

"That won't work." Destiny stated, angrily. She wasn't about to be told what to do.

Skipper was looking through a box that had been thrown out by Kowalski. He found what he was looking for.

"No. you will listen to me. This is our house, you go by our rules." Skipper hissed. He shoved four blue blankets at her.

"What for?" She asked. Still annoyed.

"Where are you from?" Skipper asked.

"Florida." A different female said.

Destiny slapped the back of her head.

She was short. To tell you the truth she looked like a female version of Private. The only difference was her voice and eyes. They were slightly bigger than Private and were purple.

That was odd. Skipper had never seen purple eyes before.

"Ow! Sorry." She said. She almost sounded like she was about to cry.

"You're now in Manhattan. It's November. It gets cold up here." Skipper explained flatly. He didn't know why they thought he was heartless. No thank you or anything. So far this Destiny wasn't being very polite.

"Where is that exactly?" The small one asked.

"New York." Private informed happily. Skipper let it go because he had told them that they were in Manhattan.

"I've always wanted to go to New York!" The short one said excitedly.

"welcome to the city that never sleeps." Skipper said with fake patience. He didn't sleep much. Paranoia filled his dreams. Don't plan on getting any sleep the first week you're here."

"Don't sleep much anyway." Destiny stated.

"That makes two of us." Skipper replied.

The two of them had been at each other since the girls arrived. It was becoming annoying.

"So Skipper. Who are your friends?" Destiny asked impatiently.

"You first." Skipper countered.

"Fine, I'm Destiny, That's Kiki." She pointed to the tall penguin, "That's Cassy," She pointed to the shorter one. "And that is Nicky." She said pointing to a penguin that was taller that Cassy but shorter than Kiki. "Your turn."

"Fine," Skipper held true to his word but he didn't like it. "I am Skipper, that's Private." He said pointing at Private. He was catching what Kowalski threw out of the lab. "That's Rico." Skipper pointed to Rico. He was Playing with a bomb. Juggling three of the actually. "And Kowalski is in there." He pointed towards the lab.

"What is he doing?" Destiny asked. She sounded like she thought it was stupid.

"He's cleaning."

"That's always fun." Kiki said sarcastically.

"No it's not." Kowalski shouted from the lab.

Skipper almost laughed. He did feel bad for Kowalski. But he did tell Kowalski to clean the lab at least once a year.

"What time is it?" Cassy asked.

"Why is that important?" Nicky asked.

"It's not. I'm just curious." Cassy replied.

Nicky pulled a makeshift back pack off her back. It looked like a homemade back pack. It was brown and closed with a buckle. In other words, they made this by themselves.

She pulled out a watch. "It's 11:30." She informed.

"That's why I'm so tired," Cassy stated.

"you don't look tired to me." Kiki stated.

"She did sound a little tired." Nicky said.

"Is this important?" Destiny asked annoyed.

"probably not." Nicky replied casually. "Lighten up girl. It was just a side conversation. We're not mutes ya know."

Destiny wacked the back of her head. "Don't sass me!"

"JeezDe." Nicky said rubbing her head. "I was just saying. I think you need to rest" She didn't understand what the problem was. And she was a little annoyed at Destiny.

"Don't Jeez me!" Destiny commanded.

"Look De. You need to calm down." Kiki said.

She was rewarded with a slap to the back of her head. A hard slap. "DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I DON'T NEED TO CALM DOWN! AND I DON'T NEED YOU GUYS TO MESS AROUND! IT'S WORTHLESS!"

"LOOK DESTINY IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE IN SUCH A CRAPPY MOOD!" Kiki shouted. "TAKE THE TIME TO CALM DOW HUH!" And she jumped out of the HQ.

Destiny screamed. "How does she think that she can talk to me like that!" Destiny yelled.

Skipper Rico and Private were up in the ceiling of Kowalski's lab.

"They don't seem to be getting along Skipper." Private said.

"Not my problem Private. Not my problem." Skipper replied.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Kowalski asked.

"It's not our place Kowalski. When they start disrupting others it will be our problem." Skipper explained.

"Yup." Rico agreed. He wasn't a fan of chic problems.

"She was right De. I think you just need some sleep. That's all. I think you're just tired. We should go to sleep. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow." Cassy said calmly. She was trying to calm Destiny down. She always got this way when she needed sleep.

"I'll go get Kiki." Rick said. Then she jumped out of the HQ.

Kiki was at the pond outside the zoo. She could still see the wall of the zoo. She sat by the water and played with it with her feet. Destiny always took her anger out on her. Kiki. And Kiki didn't know why. An easier target would be Nicky. She was a lot stronger than Kiki, and she could just shrug it off. Kiki always got upset. Maybe not always publicly. But she still felt bad inside. She still felt hurt.

She thought about the tall guy, Kowalski? He seemed smart. And he had made a plasma ray. She had to get the blueprints. She had blown herself up close to a hundred times trying to make one. He seemed nice too.

Then there was the other guy. Skipper. He and Destiny had sure been going at it. Destiny finally met her match. This guy at least understood what she was talking about. But what confused her was the black spots. They didn't look natural. Then she remembered that he was cleaning. Kowalski was. Maybe that's what they were doing earlier that day. They must have been cleaning out his inventions. and the Skipper fellow must've gotten shocked quite a few times. He didn't seem to mind. It didn't seem to bother him. He didn't look in pain. Maybe this has happened before? There's something to think about.

She looked at her reflection in the water. She had been crying. She didn't realize that she was crying. She didn't even know she started. I guess she really was hurt. She didn't like crying. Not because it made her look weak. Which it did. But because of the way it made her feel.

"Kiki." Nicky ran up to her. "I finally found you." Nicky said between gasps of air.

"Oh you were looking for me? I'm sorry." She didn't realize someone would come looking for her. She didn't think about going back. She looked up at Nicky. Nicky looked tired. She must've been running for a while.

Nicky stopped when She saw Kiki's face. She had been crying. "What's the matter Tiki?" She asked sympathetically. Tiki was Nicky's nickname forKiki.

"Nothing why do I look upset?" Kiki knew she looked upset. She knew she looked like she had been crying. She didn't mean to.

"No girl you just look like your eye's rained." Nicky said sarcastically.

"Sorry." Kiki said.

"Will you stop saying that? You don't have to be sorry for everything you do. Nicky explained.

Kiki stayed silent, looking out into the pond.

"Look. Destiny didn't mean to blow up at you."

"Oh yeah." Kiki started to cry, "Then why is it always me huh? Why doesn't she ever blow up at you, or or or Cassy huh? Why is it always me?" She cried.

"I don't know Tiki. I can't answer that one." Nicky replied softly. She didn't know why. And Kiki was right Destiny did always blow up at her. It wasn't fair.

"That's right. You can't." Kiki cried.

"You need sleep to. Shut down that over stuffed brain of yours." Nicky said trying her best to cheer Kiki up. "Come on Tiki. I'll make sure she doesn't blow up again." She promised.

"Ok. I guess I'll go." Kiki stated calming down a little.

They walked back to the habitat in silence. Nicky knew that talking would make things worse now. And Kiki was sick of being upset already.

They jumped into the HQ and came face to face with Destiny.

"Look y-" She stopped when she saw Kiki's face. But she already knew.

"I did it again didn't i?" She asked shamefully. She couldn't believe that she did it again.

"Maybe." Kiki said fighting back tears. She really did hate crying. But she knew when to let lose.

"Oh, Kay, I'm sorry. I guess I really do need sleep." She admitted

"I told you so." Cassy mumbled in an 'I told you so' kind of way.

"Yes Cassy I know you told me so." She replied. "Kay?"

"It's ok. I guess." Kiki said solemnly. It really did bother her. But she always forgave Destiny. It's always good to forgive and forget.

"No Kiki, it's not. I can't do that to you all the time. And yes I know I do it to you. Only you. I don't know why"

"De" Kiki said.

"It really isn't ok . I don't know why I can't control myself."

"De."

"It's really a bad thing. I'm sorry. I really don't mean to take it all out on you. It's not fair"

"Dee-ee"

"I know how it makes you feel too. And you really shouldn't. Well I shouldn't be making you feel that way. Anyway I am sorry and-"

"DE!" Kiki shouted. "I get it, you're sorry, enough." She laughed.

"Only you." Nicky said with a smile.

"I am sorry Kiki."

"Dee-e"

"No I'm not going to continue."

"Good"

"Can we sleep now?" Cassy moaned,

"Let me see." Destiny replied. She walked over to Kowalski's lab. Just in time to hear something blow up.

"Kowalski!" Skipper shouted. Being blown up wasn't his favorite pass time.

"Sorry Skipper. Should've told you not to touch that one." Kowalski coughed.

"You think?"

Then a bunch of other explosions went off.

"Kowalski." Skipper said dazed.

"Yes." Kowalski was also in a daze.

"Next time I tell you to do something. Do it." Skipper said

"Yes Skipper."

"Blada rada, boom boom." Rico said.

"Are there Kowalski?" Private asked. He was borderline unconscious.

"Hopefully not."

Then everything was silent.

Skipper jumped out of the Ceiling. He was charcoal black and had smoke rising from his body. He walked over to Destiny.

"Never let anyone fill a small space with unstable objects." He warned.

"I see." Destiny replied. She felt bad for the guy. He was a little dazed, but aother than that this seemed to be a regular routine.

"Where-"

"Over there." Skipper pointed to the wall on the opposite side of the romm that the boy's bunks were.

"Are they…" Destiny trailed off.

"Yes, they are unconscious." He replied. It was obvious. He wasn't giving anything away.

"I know how that feels. Kiki has had her own deadly explosions." She didn't mind telling him this. After Kiki came back she realized that she hadn't been acting very polite. I mean He did try to welcome her, them. And she could tell that he really wasn't in the mood. The saying 'don't judge a book by its' cover' came to her mind.

"I'm sorry about earlier today. It was nice of you to help." Destiny hated to say it. But he deserved it. And she believed that you had to give someone what they diserved. The thought made her stomach twist, because of what she did to Kiki. She had to stop doing that.

Skipper just looked at her for a minute. "Thanks. I guess." He replied. He didn't really feel like going after this one. But she seemed to have calmed down. That was a good thing.

He walked back into the lab.

"Where are you going?" Destiny asked, half knowing that he would tell her to back off.

"I can't leave them up there. There could be something else that has yet to blow up. Sorry but I think they've been blown up enough for one day no?" He replied. He went to go get them.

"Ok then." She didn't expect him to actually answer her. She went to the spot where he told her they could sleep. It was his home after all. She called the girls over. They were asleep in minutes. Destiny stayed up and watched Skipper drag the others to their bunks and push them in. Kowalski was on top, then Rico, ten Private. But he didn't lay down. He went back into the lab. That confused Destiny. Why would he go back there?

She got up and walked into the lab. It was black below the opening to the area above the lab but that was it. A few pieces of scrap metal were on the floor. She could hear him rustling around up in the ceiling. She jumped up to see what he was doing.

"What are you doing up here?" He demanded. He didn't like the fact that she came here. She wasn't supposed to be here. He thought that she might be looking for something to give them away to someone. What that something was and who that person was he didn't know.

"I was just looking to see what you were doing." She replied. Startled. She didn't know he was behind her. She had spun around and was now looking into his sapphire eyes. That was all she could see really. The rest of him blended with the charcoal colored interior of the area.

He stared back into her eyes. They were magenta colored. "Why?" he asked.

"I can't be curious?" She asked defensively.

Skipper thought about that. She could be curious. Just not up here. There was a lot of junk up here. It was just in a thousand little pieces now. Truthfully he was still looking for the bow. "You can." He replied. "But what are you up here for?"

"Didn't I just say that? I just wanted to see what you were doing. That's it."

"Ok."

"So, what are you doing." She asked board.

"I was going to look for something so if you don't mind."

"Fine." She was actually a little offended by this. He was being polite. But he wanted to say 'Get out of my way and go away' and she knew it. She left, angrily.

"Ok then." Skipper said confused. But he had other things to worry about. He stared to look for the bow.

Destiny went to sleep.

Skipper was up all night looking. Every invention up there blew up because there was nothing but scrap metal to look through. He started at the far corner and worked his way forward. By morning he was almost at the last corner of the space.

That's when She woke up.

By this time Skipper had been cut and scratched by the little pieces of metal. Be no mater haw bad it hurt he was going to find that bow. He sifted through the last corner. The cuts on his arms and legs were killing him. He almost couldn't take any more pain. But he kept going. And then he found it. It was in that last corner. Under the only invention that didn't explode. Well that could ruin your day. He carefully lifted the invention, whatever it was, and slid the Bow out from underneath.

He sighed. What a relief. He didn't need to blow up again.

But when he lowered the invention it clicked. Skipper heart stopped. He really didn't need this. He ran towards the exit and jumped down right before it blew up.

Skipper pressed a few spots on the wall and a secret storage compartment in the wall opened up. He placed the bow into it and then pushed it closed. It didn't even leave a seam in the wall.

Destiny walked into the lab. She gasped when she was him. She couldn't help it.


	3. Smart But Shy

So far so good?

Destiny just couldn't believe what she was looking at. She was actually quite annoyed because it wasn't the first thing that she would like to see in the morning.

"What the heck did you do last night?" She asked shocked at his appearance.

He was covered in scratches from head to toe. He looked exhausted. The cuts were still bleeding and he looked like he was in pain.

"Do you want to give them nightmares?" She asked. She knew this would give Cassy a nightmare. That wouldn't be good. She didn't like the fact that he was fine with the way he looked. How could he be fine? He looked like he just came out of a sword fight. Well he looked like it didn't really bother him all too much.

"I am in pain. And you're thinking about nightmares?" Skipper asked. Ouch. That hurt. He was in obvious pain and she was thinking about nightmares. Yeah showed how much she cared. He was going to start to trust her. But now he would wait. That wasn't right.

Kowalski woke up and saw Destiny standing outside of his lab. She was staring at something. Was she staring at the mess? That's all there really was to see in there. Was she analyzing it? That could be. But that was something Skipper did. And she would've gotten the messy image by now. She was just staring at…. Well nothing. So he walked up behind her and saw what she was looking at. It didn't sit well in his stomach.

"Sweet sugar ray tarts! Skipper what did you do!" Kowalski shouted. That woke everyone else up. Kowalski didn't care. Skipper looked like he just went through a mine field. He looked tired and in pain. That was never good. For Skipper especially, because he was tough. He would never admit it. But pain was his game. And he played it well. He took a lot of pain really well. But Kowalski guessed he couldn't block the pain when he was tired or exhausted. And Skipper was both. Kowalski shoved passed Destiny and went to his friends' side to assess the damage.

"Kowalski calm down. It's just a bunch of paper cuts." Skipper reassured. It hurt. A thousand times more than paper cuts. And these cuts stung. They were swore to the touch too. But he couldn't tell Kowalski that. Skipper was dirty and the cuts were surrounded by dry blood. Once he cleaned himself the cuts wouldn't look so bad. He flinched whenever Kowalski touched one though.

"No these are bad cuts Skipper." Kowalski informed. He was worried. Skipper was his friend, his brother. He looked really bad. He looked like he had lossed a lot of blood. That was bad. That was really bad. There was only so much blood that someone could lose. Skipper had to have been up in the ceiling again last night.

"I found it Kowalski." Skipper said. Kowalski needed to know what he was doing. He was worried. Skipper hated to see him so worried.

"You went looking for it last night?" Kowalski asked. He couldn't believe Skipper had done something so stupid. There had to be a million little shards of scrap metal up there. "Are you out of your mind!"

"I had to find it Kowalski. And if you had just cleaned your inventions out when I told you to. I wouldn't be standing here with a million little paper cuts now would I?" Skipper countered.

"No you wouldn't." Kowalski sighed,

"Look Kowalski, I know you're worried. But I'm really not as bad as I look."

"How can you say that?" Kowalski asked confused.

"Here let me show you." Skipper walked passed Kowalski and Destiny and went up the ladder. He jumped in the water and swam and spun until all the dirt and dried blood was gone. The cuts stung when they toughed water though.

When he jumped out of the water and shook himself dry the cuts that had looked so bad before really only looked like long paper cuts. They didn't hurt as much either. Skipper was glad. But he knew that he would have to put something on the cuts to fully calm Kowalski down.

"I guess you were right. They are only paper cuts." Kowalski sighed. He was glad. The cuts had looked infected before. Now they only looked like paper cuts. That was good.

"Told you. Only paper cuts." Skipper said.

Kowalski still wanted to cover them so that the cuts wouldn't get infected. He put on a liquid bandage. It stung when it touched Skippers cuts. But it meant Skipper didn't have to be wrapped in gauze. That was good. The liquid bandage made the cuts disappear from sight although they were still there in reality.

"OK now that I'm done putting myself in pain, Private Rico! Get up!" Skipper shouted. They got up and walked over to Skipper and Kowalski. They were still tired.

The girls rolled over in their sleep. They didn't want to wake up.

"Don't wake the girls!" Destiny whispered harshly. She didn't want them to wake up yet.

Skipper glared at her. She didn't care about anything but the girls. That annoyed Skipper. If she was going to move into the zoo she would have to start caring more for other people besides her own.

"Let's go boys." Skipper turned and left. The guys followed. They went up for training. Today they were practicing balance. They were having quite a bit of trouble with this. They stood on one foot, and fell. They tried to stand on their hands, and failed. They also failed at standing on thin objects, like poles, beams, and curbs.

"You can't fight without balance. Come on." Skipper pushed. They needed balance in order to fight. Good fighter had good balance, hand-eye coordination, and agility. The rest didn't matter if a fighter a skilled in those areas. Skipper had strength to. He was a skilled fighter. But he didn't like gloating about it.

Skipper saw that they were too sore to care. They blew up too. So he dismissed them for the day.

"Skippa? Don't you think we could show them the zoo?" Private asked. He thought that it would be nice if they showed them the zoo. Then the girls wouldn't be so lost.

Skipper thought for a minute. He really didn't want to. He looked over at private. He was begging with his eyes. Skipper sighed, he really hated when Private did that. "Fine."

He Private and Rico, took Destiny Nicky and Cassy around the Zoo. Kowalski wanted to clean the lab, Skipper told him that until it was cleaned he couldn't use his lab. Kiki didn't want to go. She wasn't feeling up to it. Neither Skipper nor Destiny wanted to leave the two alone together. But the others convinced them to trust the two. So they left.

Nicky left her backpack in the HQ because she didn't think she'd need it. She told Kiki to guard it with her life. Kiki would've done that anyway. She had many important things in that pack. She rustled through it to find her heat ray gun. It wasn't severely hot. It was just hot enough to undo her hydration cube ray. That was how they were able to bring so much stuff. She used her Hydration cube ray to transform groups of objects into half inch squares. There were a lot of squares in the little back pack. The objects that were compacted into each cube could be seen without using the heat ray gun, by using yet another device simply called the cube scanner.

Kiki took out the heat ray, cube scanner, and all the little cubes. She counted them. In all, there were thirty six cubes. They were blue in color and looked like ice cubes.

Sighing at the task in front of her she picked up the cube scanner and started scanning the cubes in search of her music. She liked music. All different kinds. She had a CD player, headphones, and twenty two CD's in one hydration cube. She loved music. Couldn't live without it. She usually fell asleep listening to music but she was too worn out to look last night. So she went to sleep without it. Now the only reason she was dreading looking was the fact that she really wanted music. And it would probably be the last cube she checked. Eager to get her music she started scanning cubes

Kowalski had a harder task in front of him. He had to clean the lab and the area above it. All the sharp little pieces of scrap metal. This was going to hurt. He tried to think of a way to clean up the mess without giving himself a thousand little cuts. But all of his inventions had blown up. Except those that were inside of Rico. Rico must've re-swallowed the plasma ray because if that got blown up… Well there would be no New York City. That wasn't a very pleasant thought. He shook it off and thought about how to prevent himself from looking like Skipper had that morning. He didn't have his inventions so there really wasn't anything that he could use to protect himself. Well there was Privates little metal suit. The metal suit! He was quite a bit taller than Private. But it was worth a try. Private kept his suit in the wall. Hidden in one of their many secret wall storage compartments.

Kowalski racked his brain for the correct sequence to open that particular compartment. _Left wall right flipper, then left, then two rights, then.. no! I's the right wall. Or is it? ARG! _Kowalski couldn't remember. He sat down against the wall and thought. He eventually remembered. Without thinking he went into the main room and completed the sequence. He pulled the suit out and brought it to his lab.

Kiki didn't notice Kiki. She was still trying to find her music. She was on the twenty eighth cube. She knew it would be the last one she scanned. But it still frustrated her. "AH!" She screamed. She was dying for tunes. This place had no melody. No music what so ever.

Kowalski heard her scream and went to check on her. He peaked his head out of his lab. "Are, you okay?" He asked carefully. Her scream was out of the blue. He really didn't expect that. She seemed like an easy going girl. Except around Destiny. Then she acted like he sometimes did around Skipper… What a coincidence.

She stared at him. She forgot he was there. She had been so focused on her music that she totally one hundred percent forgot the guy was there. She felt a little guilty. He was nice. He didn't need to be forgotten. She almost forgot he had asked her something.

"Oh um." She couldn't remember what he asked. She felt bad for that. He was now standing completely out of his lab. "What did you say. Again?" She asked shyly, embarrassed.

"Um… are you okay?" Kowalski repeated, "You sounded… upset." 

"Oh um, yeah. I'm having trouble finding something." She confessed.

"Do you need help?" Kowalski asked, carefully. He didn't know much about the female species. When it came to girls he was clueless. He could talk to Marlene, but she was a tomboy. A boy in a female body. She was almost a full tomboy, but she did have her girly traits. Kowalski knew her though. He didn't know anything about this girl except her name, and appearance. She was beautiful. To Kowalski. He loved the abnormal color of her eyes. They were bright green. Not neon, but bright. And they sparkled. Her glasses were a dull black. They were rounded, they looked like bug eyes. But unlike others, she looked cute in them. But Kowalski didn't know why they were so dull. Her feathers were the exact opposite. They were glossy. But it wasn't a greasy shine. It looked natural. Another thing about her eyes, they were medium sized. They weren't big, but they weren't tiny either. They were perfectly in between. And she was tall. Shorter than Kowalski, but not by much. To Kowalski, everything about Kiki was perfect.

"Um, if you want. I mean you have something to do, don't you?" She asked, shyly. She was right, he was nice. She wasn't making that up. And he was handsome too. He was tall. The tallest penguin there. Taller than her. That comforted her. She was always the tallest one of the penguins t her zoo. And none of the boys there liked her. They called her giant, and pretended to be afraid that she would squish them. It wasn't her fault that she was so tall. It was her genes. But he hadn't made fun of her once. He was nice to her. He was smiling at her. And what a smile. Especially with those eyes of his. They were blue. Not as deep as the tense one, Skipper, but not as bright as the small one, Private. They were a little brighter than true blue. They were warm. Inviting, caring. And somewhat, hypnotizing. They were absolutely gorgeous. Add that to the warm smile that he was giving her…She wanted to faint. How did she get so lucky to have time alone with him? To her, Kowalski was just drop dead gorgeous, period.

"Um Sure. I'll help. I can clean later." Kowalski replied.

"Are you sure?" Kiki didn't want to get him in trouble.

Kowalski was sure. She seemed tense about it. He had to try to cheer her up a bit. He pretended to think.

He did this for a few minutes. Kiki caught on right away. It was obvious that he wasn't really thinking. But it was cute. She figured that he sensed her anxiety and was trying to bid it farewell. He succeeded. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her beak.

"Yup I'm sure." Kowalski happily, with a smile.

Who knows? This might actually be fun. And they both needed a little fun.


	4. k time

Kowalski picked up Kiki's cube Scanner. He of course didn't know what it was. He was examining it. Trying to figure out what it was. It was unique. It was a small blue gun, with orange and green stripes going up and down the sides. And what looked like a tazer at the end. The other end held the handle and trigger, and a little screen that seemed to popped up when activated.

"What is it?" Kowalski asked baffled. He had never seen anything like it.

"It's my cube scanner." Kiki informed. Her voice was sweet, and surprisingly strong at the same time. Not incredibly, it sounded like a kindergarten teacher's voice. Sweet and yet controlling. That was just her voice though, because she wasn't telling Kowalski to do anything.

"Cube scanner?" Kowalski asked confused. "Oh you mean these ice cube looking things." He figured.

"Yes." Kiki laughed. He was smart, but he didn't say anything funny. Kiki just couldn't help laughing.

"What?" Kowalski asked. He smiled. He felt the same way. Being with Kiki made him feel giddy too. But it wouldn't sound right if he giggled. So he tried to keep his mouth shut.

"Nothing," She smiled at him. Nothing could possibly go wrong right now.

They stared at each other for a minute. Kowalski thought he would start to freak her out so he broke the silence.

"So what's this one do?" He asked picking up her Heat ray. It was red, with darker and lighter red spots all over it, and neon green flames going up the side. She customized these things. That was amazing, to Kowalski. He looked at her, the phrase love at first sight came to mind. He did think she was gorgeous the first time he saw her. He was just too chicken to say anything. Maybe that's why she got shy all of a sudden. Who knows?

"That." Kiki said, matter of factly. "Is my heat ray. Well it's not really a heat ray as much as it is a warm ray, I mean it wouldn't burn you. Well not right away. It is warm, almost hot. But it's not quite hot. It does its job though, I meant it is useful, and serves its purpose." Kiki looked up at him. She had been staring at the heat ray while she talked.

Kowalski was looking at her with a raised brow. His head was cocked a little too. He wasn't confused. He understood exactly what she meant. But she sounded a little nervous to him.

"What?" She asked scared that she had confused him, or wierded him out.

"Why are you so nervous?" Kowalski asked. "I'm not interrogating you. I don't think I could."

"You- you couldn't? Really?" Kiki asked bewildered. She thought that she would have to impress him. But she guessed that you didn't have to impress nice guys.

"Of course not. I couldn't do that to you." Kowalski reassured. He smiled at her.

She smiled back. He didn't look it at first sight. But if you gave him a chance, Kowalski was a cool, happy guy. Kiki needed that.

But what he said sort of confused her. Why couldn't he interrogate her? Was he not allowed? Or was it himself that was preventing him from doing so? "Why not?" She asked curiously.

Kowalski felt like a deer in headlights. He thought that he was falling in love with this girl. She was smart, cute, nice, and well friendly. But he couldn't say that. He didn't want to make her think that he was a creep. But then what was he supposed to say? He had to say something no? It seemed like the only thing to say was the truth. To tell her that he was falling for her. But how would she react? She just came here yesterday. She wasn't even here for two days. But Kowalski knew. He had never felt this was before. He tried to think of a good lie. But came up blank.

He swallowed, hard. "Um, You wouldn't run away if I creeped you out would you?" Kowalski asked, nervously.

"I'm a scientist. What could possibly freak me? Come on." She replied happily. She was dying to know why he couldn't interrogate her. Maybe she was over reacting. But then maybe she wasn't.

"I um… I think.. I um.." Kowalski stuttered. " I think…I , am falling… in love, with you." Kowalski said slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut half expecting her to run away crying. But she didn't. Kowalski opened his eyes and looked at her. She had the biggest smile he had ever seen. That's what he was hoping for.

Kiki thought her heart was going to stop. No one could've made her happier than Kowalski just did. She felt like she could fly. She couldn't stop smiling. It was like getting the birthday present you wished for everyday… Times a thousand.

She couldn't help herself. She jumped up and hugged him. She didn't know where the courage to do that came from. But she enjoyed it.

Kowalski was blown back. Kiki acted like he had just given her the best gift ever. He was surprised by her reaction. He had expected a slap or to get punched or for her to run away. But a hug? Not in his wildest dreams would he have seen that coming. But he liked it, so he hugged her back.

No words can describe how the two felt in each others' arms.

Kiki whispered, "I love you two." She did. Kowalski, being Kowalski, almost fainted. He got dizzy, but commanded himself to stay awake. To hold his position.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before, happily, getting back to Kiki's cause of frustration. Kiki explained to Kowalski what she was doing. She told him about the heat ray, the hydration cube ray, and the cube scanner. She explained how she created the hydration cube ray.

"Well I was mad at De, so I threw a bunch of potions that I had been working on into one of the empty guns that I was going to try to make into a plasma ray. And well started to shot at her. She of course being good at everything dodged every beam with ease. But everything that the beam hit turned into a small cube." Kiki held up one of the cubes. "Like this one. She stopped when I cubified her weapons. They were laid out on a table. Boy did I regret that. I kept shooting at her though. I almost got her too. She came at me like a bull. Or a bat out of hell. She didn't KO me though. She did beat me something fierce. I started pleading with her when she got the Hydration gun out of my hands. I had nothing and she had, anger, and strength. And my weakness. I didn't disserve all of it though. I mean she broke both my arms my legs, all my ribs, and I could've sworn she was about to snap my neck. She was about to. I mean her flippers were in position and everything. Of course me, being the baby that I am, started to cry when she broke the first bone. She left me like that for three days. And Nicky and Cassy would've helped. But De had a strict eye on them. She wouldn't let them near me. By day four she started to feel bad. I didn't move. All I really did was lay there. And occasionally cry. Silently though. I don't know how, but every time she came near me, even with all those broken bones. I still managed to crawl away. She terrified me. She beat us yeah. I mean like she would crack a bone and fill our bodies with bruises. But never, EVER, did she do anything like that. I'm still kind of afraid of her. I won't continue with her unless I'm feeling brave, or truthfully believe in what my argument is. And one of my ribs is still crooked. Don't feel bad for me though. Since then Nicky has become my personal body guard against Destiny. And I'm okay, really. It's just that… Sometimes, I think she only keeps me, because Nicky and Cassy want me there. She acts upset. But ever since that incident, I've been wondering, what if it's all _really_ just an act?" Kiki finished.

Kowalski thought for a minute. He felt really bad of Kiki. Skipper sometimes came real close, I mean _really_ close, to doing that. But he had the control to stop himself. He still scared the life out of them. But he never did _that_ much damage. He did break their bones though. Ever since he broke his he had broken their bones every once in a while. He made it look like an accident. But if he didn't apologize, than it was on purpose. They didn't blame him though. They were actually grateful. It would make broken bones in the heat of battle easier to ignore. But right now he had to think about Kiki. She needed help. Comfort.

"Well, I know you're not going to like this, but I think you need to talk to her. Alone. You guys obviously have some things to work out." Kowalski advised. He did think that was the solution with the best outcomes. And he knew that Kiki wouldn't like it. But she had to know that the choice was out there.

"No I can't. Not alone." Kiki said sadly, fearfully. She couldn't talk to Destiny about that alone. She'd be too afraid that it would happen again.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Kowalski offered. They had to work this out. And he was willing to help.

"No, I don't want you to get hurt either."

"I know you don't like it. And don't want to do it, but it is the only way to know for sure. And I think it would help you move on."

"I-I" Kiki sighed. "I guess I'll try."

"You don't have to do it right away. Let her calm down first. Now, why don't we look for that music of yours?" Kowalski asked to change the subject.

"Yeah, let's- let's do that."

They spent the next half hour looking. Kiki felt good. She never shared that with anyone before. Not even Nicky. But somehow, telling Kowalski, felt…right. And when she thought about it, Kowalski was right. Talking to De was the only way to know for sure. And to make things between them smother. It still scared her though.

Kowalski had good eye sight, thanks to Skipper, And could look right at the cubes -Though he still had to put them almost dead up against his eye- and know what was frozen within. But Kiki did work faster than him with the Cube Scanner.

"I found it!" She said happily when she found her music. She didn't see the point in staying upset about talking to De. Kowalski seemed relieved that she was happy.

He was. He almost regretted talking to her about it. But he was glad he did. It seemed to give her a little bit of confidence.

She unfroze it and the cube grew and then broke. Resulting in a headset, a CD player, a few CD's and a small speaker. "I forgot about my mini speaker. Now we can dance." Kiki said. She seemed happy that she could Dance. She liked dancing, in water or on land. She just loved dancing. And singing. But she wasn't about to tell him that.

"Dance?" Kowalski laughed. He laughed like it was a joke. He couldn't dance to save his life. When he calmed down he looked at Kiki. She had the same look that a mother gave her child or husband when she knew that they weren't telling the truth. She wasn't happy with his reaction.

"I will teach you how to dance." She said flatly. Then she smiled. "I have to show you my favorite songs first."

Kowalski definitely couldn't categorize these past two days as being normal, even for him. But he did secretly enjoy music.

"Here's one of them." Kiki said as she played the first song.

Kowalski sat down and listened… as the speakers shouted what sound like a nice soft song…

_Think about a lul-laby_

_Think about a lullaby_

_Baby close your eyes don't cry_

_Think about a lullaby_

_Let me sing you oooff to sleep_

_Let daddy play his sole to keep._

_It's safe here with your mom and I_

_Think about a lullaby_

_Think about a butterfly_

_Think about a lullaby_

_Think about a cloud in the sky._

_You can count your little sheep_

_But babe ya got to go to sleep_

_And baby please don't you cry._

_Think about a lullaby._

_Think about a lullaby_

_Baby close your eyes don't cry_

_An think about a lullaby._

Then there was a musical break. Kowalski thought this song would be sung to someone who had a troubled heart. Like they were dumped or lost a family member…

Then the song continued.

_Think about a lullaby _

_Think about a butterfly_

_Think about a cloud in the sky_

_You can count your little sheep_

_But baby got to go to sleep_

_And baby please don't you cry_

_Think about a lullaby_

_Think about a lullaby_

_No baby close your eyes don't cry_

_And think about a lullaby._

"Wow." Kowalski said, in aw. The song was beautiful. No wonder she liked it. But she didn't seem like a sad person. SO why would that be one of her favorites.

"My dad used to sing that to me when I had nightmares as a kid." Kiki looked down. "It helps me keep him in my heart."

She didn't sound really sad. But Kowalski could tell that she missed her father. She didn't blame her. A father who does that must be a great one. His father used to tell him to shut up and go back to sleep. She was lucky.

"That's a nice song. I'm guessing it helped with the nightmares?" Kowalski said.

"Yeah it did. DO you want to hear another one?" She asked hopefully.

Kowalski wasn't about to ruin her mood, he liked seeing her so happy, "Be my guest." He said. He liked music too.

"Ok here it is." She played another song,

_Doo doodoodoo doo doo doodoodoodoo doo doodoodoo doo doo doodoodoodoo doo doodoodoodoooo doo doo doo doodoodoodoooo Doodoodoodoodoo oooOOO oooOOO. Well I wondered around after hours of words and I waiting in vain here for weeks The ghost of a girlfriend that's here in my room I still smell her perfume in my sheets But that's not her in my bed no she's out on the town and I don't want anyone to see there's a tattoo of my name on her body, But honestly the man holding her hand isn't me Oh honey how can you regret me when you know you can't forget me Babe it's ok ok to say that you love me Love me I think of you all night long still think of you all night long hey hey hey Oh it's ok ok to say that you love me love me I think of you all night long STILL thinking of Yooooouuuuuuuuuo (all night long, hey hey hey oooOO oooOO) I thought that once you've had one you had every woman until I lost this legendary woman Shit now I'm sure they don't make em like her anymore. so PLEASE baby PLEASE lover let's find a way to forgive each other I've gotten around ever since you've been gone But without you I'm still alone oh how can you regret me when you know you can't forget me Babe its ok ok to say that you love me love me I think of you all night long still think of you all night long hey hey hey oh it's ok ok to say that you love me love me I think of you all night long Still think of yooooouuuuuuo (all night long hey hey hey)_

_I made mistakes I'm only human and I am not ashamed to say that yooouuuo aarrree the ooonnnnne one_

_ooooOO-ooo ooooooooooooOOOOoooooooooOO-ooo Baby_

_(doo doodoodoo doo doo doodoodoodoo doo doodoodoo doo doo doodoodoodoodoo doo doodoodoooooo doo doo doo doodoodoooooo doodoodoo) Babe it's ok ok to say that you love me love me love me I think of you all night long still think of you all night long hey hey hey oh it's ok ok to say that you love me love me I think of you all night long Still thinking of yoooouuuuoo (all night long hey hey hey)) OOOO._

"That was different." Kowalski said. "It was interesting." He liked it. Both of them. They were both good

"I'm glad." Kiki said happily. "I have more but I don't want to listen to them right now." She didn't all of a sudden the zoo had its' own melody. It was marvelous.

"Do you want to get a tour of the zoo?" Kowalski asked. He would think that Kiki would like to know where she was. And her way around.

"Sure." Kiki replied

Kowalski took her to Phil and Mason first. They gave her a warm welcome and showed them a little about themselves without really meaning too. Kowalski explained to her how they're like opposites but best friends. "Like Skipper and Private." He explained. Skipper was hard military core. And Private liked flowers and happier things. They were completely different, but that only brought them closer.

Then Kowalski showed her Bada, Bing, Joey, Burt, Ted, Roy, Berry- He warned her to not touch him- The chameleons, and then they reached the lemurs. They of course were playing music. "I think I like these guys already." Kiki said as she spun to the music.

"They may have music, but they run your patience dry." Kowalski warned.

"Oh come on. How bad could they be?" Kiki asked care free.

When they walked to the lemur habitat. Julian saw Kiki and smiled, "who is your lady friend penguin?" He asked, trying to woe her.

"Julien, this is Kiki. Kiki, Julien." Kowalski said with fake patience.

"Well beautiful, why don't you ditch the feathery freak and spend some time with the king." He made a purring sound.

Kiki took a deep breath. "I think we should go Kowalski." She said, holding he breath.

Kowalski knew that was coming. They walked away. Once they were around the next corner, Kiki let out her breath with a moan. "I should've believed you. I hate them. I think I might be able to tolerate him, but he's at the top of my hatred list." She admitted.

"There's still someone that you haven't met yet." Kowalski said mysteriously.

"Am I going to want to kill this someone?" Kiki asked, not in the mood for anymore idiotic morons.

"No I think you'll like her." Kowalski replied.

Her? This was a girl? Thank god. Kiki was starting to get annoyed with all of the males in this place. "A girl?"She asked excitedly, "Let's go! I have to meet her!"

"Hold on." Kowalski laughed. But he knew why she was eager to meet a girl. Marlene was the only girl at the zoo. But Marlene could stand up for herself. When the guys were there. They were like her confidence boosters. And it might've helped to know that the guys were there to kick someone's but if needed.

He had to run to keep up with her, and pull her the right way.

When he got there he called Marlene to come out.

She scampered out right away.

"Oh hi!" She said joyfully. "I'm Marlene, welcome to the zoo."

"Thank you Marlene. I'm Kiki by the way. So far it has been an interesting first day." She replied happily. She was happy. So far the only things that were wrong were those pesky lemurs, and De.

"Kiki huh? That's a nice name."

Yours is different too. I have ever heard Marlene before." Kiki said with interest.

"Yeah it's a first for most." Marlene looked over a t Kowalski, he had little minor cuts all over his body. "Didi you blow yourself up again Kowalski?"

"Maybe." Kowalski replied, a little embarrassed, mostly surprised that she was able to figure that out. But then again, Marlene wasn't stupid/

"Bye Marlene it was nice to meet you." Kiki said as she turned to leave. She knew why Kowalski had saved her for last. It was to calm her down after she talked with the lemurs.

"Bye." Marlene called after her.

Kiki and Kowalski walked back to the HQ. Everyone was on top. They saw Destiny jump inside.

"Should I talk to her now?" Kiki asked nervously. She didn't want to talk to De yet. She was still afraid of the outcome.

"Better now that later." Kowalski replied. He looked her in the eye.

She looked back. They held their gaze for half a minute before Kiki ran for the HQ. Kowalski knew why too. She wanted to go and do it before she lost her courage…

Kowalski watched her whisper something to Nicky and Cassy before jumping in. It was probably to tell them not to intrude….

Kowalski hoped it would go well. He didn't want Kiki to get hurt. He walked up to Skipper and the guys.

"Well they were at least polite around the other animals of the zoo." Private argued.

"Yup yup." Rico agreed.

"Where were you?" Skipper asked annoyed, without even turning to Kowalski.

"Um Kiki got board and asked me to show her around. So I was polite and did." Kowalski explained. It wasn't very far from the truth.

"Skipper spun around and stared Kowalski in the eyes, "Why?" He growled.

"She asked politely, I couldn't say no." Kowalski argued.

Skipper slapped Kowalski. "Be careful Kowalski, you don't know what they could be planning…" Skipper warned.

"Yes Skipper. I'll be more careful next time"

"Good."


	5. hyperventalation

Destiny was looking at the wall. Kiki knew she was thinking. About what she had no idea. She walked up to Destiny, but destiny didn't move.

"Um De?" Kiki asked nervously.

Destiny didn't hear her.

"De." She said louder.

Destiny spun around, and before Kiki knew what happened, Destiny was on top of her. She immediately got a flash back of the beating. That's how it started, with her on the ground and Destiny on top of her. She screamed. Paniced. It was going to happen again.

Destiny immediately jumped off her and backed up.

Nicky and Cassy were inside within seconds of Kiki's scream.

Kiki was hyperventilating. The beginning of her terrible breathing issue. It only appeared when she was terrified. And only Nicky knew how to stop it. It was like an asthma attack only worse. She had to be nebulized or her wind pipe would close completely. And she would die.

Kiki was laying on her back, hyperventilating. Nicky was immediately up in Destiny's face. She was the guard that stepped between her and Kiki.

"What's your problem girl?" Nicky shouted. "Why do you have to do this to her huh?"

"Nicky. First don't talk to me like that." Destiny growled. "And second when did you become her body guard?"

"After you almost killed her, and let her rot for three days!" Nicky screamed.

"Um Nicky" Cassy called in a worried voice.

"What?" she turn around. Kiki was gasping for air. Her wind pipe was closing, fast.

"AH!" Nicky rushed over to her pack and took out a red colored ice block. She shot it with the heat ray, and turned it into Kiki's nebulizer. She ran back over to Kiki, who could no longer gasp for breath, but was still trying. She turned the nebulizer on and attached one end to Kiki's face.

Kiki's wind pipe opened, not extremely fast but it opened at a fast rate.

Nicky marched right back up into Destiny's face.

Kiki started to cry. She was terrified. She didn't blame Kowalski for suggestion that she do this, because she was the one that listened to him. But that didn't help the fact that she was crying, and with the thoughts that were going through her head, she didn't think she'd be stopping any time soon. She didn't like crying. But she thought that she disserved to cry.

Cassy was sitting next to her. Making sure the nebulizer stayed on, and on her face. And rubbing her back. She tried to comfort her, but so far it did no good

Nicky went back over to Kiki and made her hold the nebulizer. She was scared yes. Scared to where she couldn't move, but she wasn't a baby. Kiki didn't realize what Nicky did at first. But she would thank her later.

"Where do _you_ get off," Nicky poked Destiny's chest. "Thinking that doing this," She waved her arm at Kiki. "Is ok? What the heck is wrong with you?"

"Look-" Destiny started.

"No De, there are no more excuses. Your lack of control over yourself gave Kiki this problem. And now it's making things worse."

Then the boys' jumped in.

"What's going on in here?" Skipper demanded.

Kowalski saw Kiki and dam near died. She was hooked up to a nebulizer, and looked to be having breathing problems. On top of that she was crying uncontrollably. He wanted to rush over to her. But that would just get them both in trouble.

No one answered Skipper.

Then everything was quiet. The only noise was the hum of Kiki's nebulizer. And her struggled breathing.

She made eye contact with Kowalski, he looked sorry that he told her to do this. She tried to smile but erupted into a coughing fit.

Kowalski knew that she couldn't stop now. Obviously something had happened. Destiny had to know. Kowalski motioned his head towards Destiny. To his surprise, Kiki nodded. He watched as She took the nebulizer of and whispered something to Cassy.

"I want every one out." Kiki whispered in a very sad, upset voice.

"Are you sure?" Cassy asked worried. She didn't want to leave her here with Destiny. It could happen again.

"I'm sure Cassy."

Cassy got up and told the boys to leave. They left without a complaint. It wasn't their place. Then she went up to Nicky. And whispered "Kiki wants us to leave."

"What?" Nicky whispered.

"Kiki wants to talk to De alone." Cassy whispered.

They looked over at Kiki. She was sitting on the floor holding the nebulizer, looking as miserable as ever. Nicky walked over to her.

"Girl-" She started.

"Please Nick." Kiki pleaded. You can't really argue with a voice as sad as hers was.

Nicky sighed. "Just be careful Tiki." And she grabbed Cassy and left. Leaving Destiny and Kiki alone.

"What-"

"Why me?" Kiki cried, she let herself go, releases the chains that held her thoughts inside her head. She let Destiny know everything. "Why do you hate me? Why do I feel like you don't care? Like you couldn't care less if I was fed to a shark, or torn up by piranhas? Why am I always last huh?" tears were flowing down her cheeks one after another. He voice was cracked and as sad as it had ever been. It was about time that De found out what her actions had done to Kiki. The mental pain that she suffered. "Why do you not care? Why? Why don't you like me? What did I do? Why do you hate me?"

Destiny couldn't say anything. How could she answer those questions? More important. How could she let herself make Kiki think those things. She wante to cry herself.

"Look Kiki, I don't-"

"You don't want to try Destiny. You never wanted to try to do anything for me. It was all just an act!" Kiki cried.

Kiki was right. Destiny never really tried. She did act like she didn't care. Kiki was always last. But the truth was, deep down, Destiny would be in tears if Kiki got eaten by anything. Whether she saw it or not. Deep down she knew that she was holding a grudge against Kiki. But she forgot why. She couldn't answer, she felt tears swelling up behind her eyes. She took several deep breaths but it didn't work. Because Nicky was right. Destiny did this to Kiki. Kiki never had a problem breathing until the incident. Destiny gave her that Problem. She was making Kiki suffer. Try calming yourself down with that thought in mind.

"I don't know why Kiki." Destiny admitted trying to make her voice sound as calm as she could.

"Yes you do," Kiki cried. Now her voice was lower though.

Destiny couldn't tell Kiki that she was holding a grudge. Well she wasn't anymore, she let go a few minutes ago.

Destiny started pacing.

Kiki didn't notice but her end of the nebulizer fell off her beak. She was watching Destiny when her world went black. Her sight was usually the last to go. SShe tried to find the nebulizer but was looking in the wrong direction.

"De. She managed to choke out, it was barely audible. She tried again and again but Destiny could hear her. Then she remembered that voices weren't the only sounds in the world. She couldn't breathe anymore. But with all the strength that she had left, Kiki slamed her fist to the floor. She was laying on her back.

Destin turned around. What she saw only made things worse.

"KIKI!" She shouted. She ran over to her, grabbed the nebulizer and shoved it back onto Kiki's face, hoping that she wasn't too late.

Kiki didn't move. Her eye's didn't open, she didn't moan, there was no steady rise and fall of her chest, nothing. And it scared Destiny.

"No, no. I'm sorry Kiki, I know that's not much but it's all I can say. I'm sorry I haven't done much for you. I'm sorry I haven't been all to nice to you, I'm sorry I ignore you and give you such a hard way to go. I'm sorry I caused this all of this. I'll try, I really will, but you have to stay with me." Destiny pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You know. That's a whole lot more than just two words, De." Kiki croaked.

Destiny looked up at her, Her eyes were barely open. But she was alive. She was alive! "Kay?"

"And it meant a whole lot more too." She said through the nebulizer. "Yeah you did this. This is all your fault."

Destiny looked down, shamefully.

Kiki sat up.

"Girl if you're willing to commit to learning how to control yourself. Than as soon as you're done, I'll kiss my fear of you bye bye." Kiki explained.

"And fro this… cry me a river build a bridge and get over it."

Destiny smiled.

Kiki held out her arms "Forgives and forgets all around." She smiled. Now she knew. Destiny could swim in that for a while.

"You should be the one asking for the forgives." Kiki added.

"I would've if you didn't offer first."

Then they hugged.

Yeah this story isn't exactly the way I planed. So hang on you'll have to go wherever this wacko story takes us. P.S. I am planning a humanized experience for the eighth of them. Lets hope the story doesn't have a train wreck on it's way there. I shall try to update soon but it might start to take me longer..


	6. late night surprising morning

Destiny wouldn't let Kiki get up. Kiki tried to convince Destiny that she was ok, but Destiny wouldn't listen. Nicky even tried to explain to her that Kiki only needed the nebulizer for a few hours. Destiny wouldn't listen to her either.

And that's where they were now. Destiny was sitting on the table that was in the middle of the HQ. She didn't know why she hadn't seen it before. But she sat there with her mug of tea. She had uncubified it. She sat there drinking tea from her purplish- pink mug. It was more pink than purple. She watched Kiki like a hawk. She had fallen asleep a few hours earlier. Kiki still had the nebulizer on her. And it was still on. Destiny thought it would be good if she kept it on for a while. Cassy was asleep as well. She had passed out a few minutes after Kiki. Nicky was sitting next to Destiny. But Destiny could sense that she too, was drifting off to sleep. Destiny wouldn't sleep that night. She wouldn't let herself sleep. She would watch Kiki all night. To make sure that she didn't relapse again.

Nicky fell asleep somewhere between one and two o'clock in the morning. Destiny watched Kiki for a little while. They boy's were sleeping. Or were very good actors. Rico and Private were definitely sleeping. She was almost sure that Kowalski was sleeping but couldn't really tell. She had no idea if Skipper was asleep or not. She didn't really care either.

Her mind was racing. She looked over at Kiki, she should be good for a while. Destiny needed fresh air. So she decided to go outside.

She went up the ladder looking at the boys as she climbed. Skipper wasn't sleeping, his eyes were open. She continued up anyway. Once outside she decided to walk around the zoo. To think. The boys had been as polite as their tolerance would let them. She thought the argument that Skipper had with Julian was Irritating, funny, and kinda cute. But she would never tell that to anyone. She didn't want to think that she was falling for him. That would just be wrong. Though, now that she thought about it, they did have a lot in common. They both liked organization, they both fought pretty well, they both understood metaphors, sarcasm, and military talk. The though sent a chill down her spine. How would anyone think that they had even the slightest chance of… _falling_ for each other. That thought made her laugh. It was completely and utterly impossible.

Skipper seemed to be forced on the tour. She suspected Private, mostly because he seemed the kindest from day one. Destiny thought that they all probably had a kind heart. They just came off like they didn't or had a little one. Especially Skipper. But then she would be in a bad mood if she was blown up twice, and covered in secret cuts. So she really couldn't blame him. So far though, her favorites have been, Mason, Maurice, Burt, and Marlene. Mason was sophisticated. She had a special liking for sophisticated people. Maurice, Julian's servant, was, in a way, sort of down to earth. Not majorly. But he wasn't silly or stupid, or crazy. He was normal, also one of her favorite types of people. Burt was different. She didn't exactly know why she liked Burt. She speculated that it was because he could be both silly and focused. But she didn't know for sure. Marlene Destiny liked because she was welcoming. And she had a personality that was good for everyone. She knew that because Nicky, Cassy, and herself liked her, and they all had very different standards, and interests. So Marlene was pretty cool. That's it. Everyone else either, annoyed her, pissed her off, or she just didn't like them.

She felt bad, guilty, upset, and in a way, afraid of herself. All because of what she did to Kiki. It wasn't fair. Kiki had a kind heart. Maybe even kinder than Cassy. But she was shy. And that alone kept her from showing herself, as she truly was. She had shown Destiny. And Destiny thought that Kiki could achieve so much, make so many more friends… if only she wasn't so shy. And what Destiny did to her only made things worse. If she thought that Kiki was shy before, than Kiki was really anti social now. Seriously. She didn't talk to anyone unless they talked to her first. She didn't say hello, or goodbye, or even just walked up to someone. The guys back home didn't help much either. Bunch of jerks. They always, _always_ made fun of her. Most of them were her height and Cassy's. Nicky was a little tall for them. But Kiki, god it almost seemed like those bays had nothing better to do. She had hurt a few of them, to Destiny's surprise, But that seemed too make things worse. She tried to ignore them, but Destiny could see that it still hurt. It was easy to hurt Kiki. But she didn't show it. She kept it bottled inside. And if someone told her a lie. She would think of many different ways to prove them wrong, because she of course almost never knew it was a lie. But Nick was right, Kiki was right. She did leave Kiki in pain, broken, and beaten, for three days. She had been way to hard on Kiki. And she didn't even remember why she was so mad. Well she knew it was because Kiki cubified her weapons. But she didn't remember what got Kiki so angered that she started to shoot at her. And now that it was on her mind, it would bother her for the next few hours. She wanted to know what had happened between the two of them that night. And Kiki was right, she hadn't been showing Kiki her good side. Not a lot anyway. And come to think of it, Destiny missed it. She missed Kiki. She hasn't seen her smile in a while. And she missed it. She hasn't seen the fearless side of Kiki in what seems like forever. And she missed that two. She hasn't seen Kiki's heart or true self in a while either. And she missed that the most. Kiki had a good heart. Almost pure gold. And she was at her best when she was herself. Her true self. She was happy, brave, caring, a true, great friend. She had always been a friend to Destiny. Even after the incident. Just, after the incident, she became less of a friend. But Destiny had stopped completely. She acted heartless. The thought made her stomach churn. It seemed to make her heart rip. She was ashamed. She would change. She promised Kiki that she would. She would learn to control herself. She didn't want Kiki to be afraid anymore.

She started to cry thinking about Kiki. Poor Kiki._ No. _she told herself _Not poor Kiki. She hates being pitied. Not poor Kiki. Just change, control yourself. And then Kiki will come back._ She made herself believe that. She knew that's what would happen. It was the controlling herself that would be difficult. She took a deep breath and continued walking.

Skipper watched Destiny leave. He waited until he was sure that she was gone before going outside. She didn't seem to like him all too much. Well she didn't seem to care. Then again, he hadn't been very polite to her. He tried to. But he couldn't pull off that attitude. The friendly attitude to a girl he didn't know very well. He just couldn't. She could be anyone, anything. Maybe she wasn't a real penguin. Maybe none of them were. She could be a spy, or an assassin. She could be a mob boss for all he knew. He hadn't slept in two days. Maybe that was why he was so paranoid.

He stared up at the moon. It was nice. He didn't show it, nor did he tell anyone, but he liked nature. And the night sky. And he also enjoyed looking out over things, especially cities at night. He would often sneak up to the top of the Empire State Building in the dead of night to look out over the city.

It was one of his secrets. One that no one would ever know.

But he couldn't just leave with Destiny walking around. Or so he thought that she was walking around for she wasn't anywhere around the habitat. So he went up to the clock tower. The lookout post. They used it every other day. They had skipped two days. So Skipper would take watch tonight. Besides, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. His mind was buzzing.

He wondered about what had happened between the girls. Kiki was on a nebulizer, that meant something had gone wrong. And when they got down there Nicky didn't look to be very happy with Destiny. But it wasn't their place. And it wasn't his to be asking about what had happened. Destiny didn't seem to like him as it is. Kiki would probably start crying. Nicky would probably try to kill him and Cassy would probably walk away. It wasn't worth it. He would ask about it if and when he got to know them better and if he remembered. But that didn't look like it would happen soon.

He wondered what Kowalski did all day. The lab wasn't much cleaner than it had been that morning. In fact it didn't look like Kowalski did anything. He knew it wasn't a good idea to leave him with Kiki. But then again, he really didn't know what happened. Maybe Kowalski was thinking too much about it and was pulled away by Kiki before he got to even start. Maybe all they did was go on a tour. He didn't know. But he hoped Kowalski didn't do too much talking with the girl.

The tour that Rico, Private, and himself gave to the other three could've gone better. Ringtail got on his nerves. How does a lemur think that he could hit on a female penguin? It just seems wrong in so many ways. He and Ringtail have had many arguments and many disagreements, but not one that awkward. And he was right. Destiny looked like she was about to kill ringtail. It was a good thing that Private made them move on. Or else he would've let her kill him.

He found himself thinking a lot about her, Destiny. And he didn't know why. He could be falling for her. Now there's a thought. But how could they ever be together? How could they ever fall in love… He wasn't going to unchain his heart yet. If she ever, _ever_, felt the slightest feeling for him he would be surprised. She seemed so… heart hidden. Like him. She had a heart. He could tell by the way she watched over Kiki. Like a hawk. But she didn't show that she had a heart. And she could fight, and understand him. That was new. Everything he had said to her she understood. He would have to explain himself to everyone else. She was different. And he wasn't going to let himself fall for her.

Nicky to him seemed like both a nice and steel toned girl. She was nice, she had a heart. But she wasn't afraid of Destiny. Not like Kiki who seemed to be afraid of her. For the most part. Cassy was simply the female version of private. The only difference was that she was equipped for the girls way of life and he was equipped for the guys way of life. Other than that, they were pretty much the same.

But Skipper still didn't think that he could trust them.

He looked out to the streets of Ney York. He didn't know why he liked it, but he liked the sounds of the city. Not the screams that everyone always thought filled the streets at night. He liked the sound of rushing cars. The honking horns. He likes the whistling winds at night. He liked looking at the lights of New York at night. He liked watching cars driving by and people walking along. He liked living in the city that never sleeps. It drove some people nuts. But it somehow seemed calming to him. He could think clearer when he listened to the sounds of the city at night, and looked out at the lights.

He felt alone. Like no one really knew him. And it was really his own fault. But they never pushed him. They knew him to a certain degree. They knew how he would react to certain things. They knew what he liked to do and just plain liked. But they didn't know that he liked the city at night. They didn't know that he liked the moon or nature. They didn't know that he didn't sleep long t night. Mostly four to five hours. They didn't know that. They didn't know that he felt alone and stressed most of the day. They didn't know, they didn't know. They only knew half of Skipper.

He sometimes wished that they had been like Manfredi and Johnson. They had always pushed information out of him. And because they did that, they knew Skipper. All of him. Every defect and every perfection. Everything about him. They knew him since he was a kid. An older kid but he was still a kid. They knew him, and respected him, up until the day they died. And he respected them for it. No one ever tried as hard as they did. No one ever took the time to get to know him like they did. Well except the guys. And they didn't know the other half of him because they didn't try, and he didn't tell them.

He wanted, but didn't want them to know. He was conflicted. But he would shrug it away like he always did. And life would continue.

Destiny had thought everything through. She would learn to control herself by Christmas. So Kiki could be herself again, and finally have fun. And smile and get rid of her fear. With that thought finalized, Destiny went back to the Habitat and climbed down the hatch into the HQ. Halfway down the ladder she noticed that Skipper was missing. _That's odd. He was there when I left. Hmm. Did he go for a walk to?_ She thought. It was odd. But it wasn't her problem, so she shrugged it away.

She looked over at Kiki. She was sleeping soundly. Like nothing traumatic had ever happened. She looked ok. Well she hadn't relapsed. Destiny listened to the hum of the nebulizer for a while. Then she looked at the clock. It was four o'clock. Very early in the morning. She didn't think Kiki would like to wake up attached to the nebulizer, so she went over and detached it. She wrapped it up and dragged Kiki over to one of the blankets. She covered her and put her head on the pillow. Kiki liked warmth. It was a little odd, but then again everyone's different. Destiny Shot the nebulizer with the hydration cube gun and put it in the pack. It didn't take her very long to do that. She sat back down at the table. It was four thirty when she passed out. She hadn't slept in three days.

Skipper watched the sun rise. He would go back to the HQ when Alice's car arrived. So far it hadn't. She was late. The Clock tower said Six thirty. Alice was usually there by six.

Nicky woke up first. Besides Skipper but he was up all night. She looked over at the table. She smiled, it was about time Destiny got some sleep. She looked over at the clock. It was six fifty. That was late for De. She usually woke up at five. But Nicky wouldn't wake her up just yet. She was still sitting at the table.

She woke up Kiki though.

"What?" She asked half asleep.

"It's seven o'clock." Nicky informed with a smile.

Kiki shot up. "What!" She said alarmed. Destiny usually got up at five and woke them up at six. She realized that she was under a blanket and off the nebulizer a few seconds later. She knew De couldn't leave her on the nebulizer all night.

Nicky laughed, "She's sound asleep."

Kiki looked over at Destiny. She was sound asleep. "Well it's about time."

"What?" Cassy yawned.

"It's seven o'clock." Kiki explained.

"Then why aren't we awake? We should be training right?" Cassy asked confused.

"Look" Kiki smiled pointing at Destiny.

"Oh Goody, she's finally sleeping. I was getting worried about her." Cassy said happily.

"We all were Cassy." Nicky replied. She was happy to see De sleeping. Kiki was right. It was about time.

"But don't you think we should wake her up?" Kiki asked, "You know, before the boys?"

"We should." Cassy agreed. "But why are they still sleeping?"

"I don't know." Nicky replied. She looked over at them, and noticed that Skipper wasn't there. "Hey where's the tough guy?"

"The tough guy? You mean Skipper?" Cassy asked.

"Yeah him."

"Are you having trouble remembering names Nick?" Kiki asked skeptically.

"No." Nicky said defensively. "He just seemed to be pulling the tough act with the lemur."

"It seemed like they do that regularly, because the lemur didn't seem very intimidated." Kiki replied.

"Well maybe." Nicky agreed.

"Are we going to wake Destiny before he comes back?" Cassy asked impatiently. She didn't think that Destiny would like waking up to him.

"Yeah let's do that." Kiki replied.

They walked over to Destiny and shook her awake.

"What?" She asked sleepily.

"Girl you need to get up." Nicky replied. She was the only one that called Destiny Girl.

"Why?" Destiny asked, not wanting to get up.

"De," Kiki laughed, "It's seven o'clock in the morning."

Destiny shot up, fully awake. "What!" She asked surprised. She couldn't believe she slept so late. She never slept in. it wasn't like her to sleep in. Seven o'clock was late for her.

"It is seven o'clock" Kiki repeated.

"Oh god. I can't believe I slept so late." Destiny moaned.

"Hey, don't worry De. You needed the sleep." Cassy said, casually.

"No-"

"Yes, Destiny you needed the sleep." Nick said.

"Fine. But you should've woke me up earlier." Destiny said flatly.

"Destiny, we just wake up ten minutes ago." Kiki informed, impatiently.

"Then why didn't you wake me up ten minutes ago!" Destiny demanded.

"Because you needed to sleep!" Kiki countered, "You need sleep De. I think that's why you can't control yourself. You need sleep!"

"I get enough sleep." Destiny stated defensively.

"Yeah? And when's that? Every three or four days? You need to sleep every night. Every night De!" Kiki argued. Destiny needed sleep. She was a good person. But without sleep, she was just short of a demon.

Destiny didn't reply. She knew Kiki was right. She did need sleep. And her lack of sleep was probably the culprit of her lack of control and why she was so on edge. She stared at the ground. She really did need sleep. She was exhausted, tired, and felt constantly worn out.

Kiki sighed, "Look De, it's no big deal. Just sleep at night will ya."

Destiny looked up at Kiki. She was so shy, yet so demanding. Like a motherly demanding. She told you when you needed to cool down, think, or sleep. She was smart, shy, and on top of that, she knew what was right. Most of the time.

Destiny didn't know it. No one really did. But she and Kowalski were alike in many different ways.

Skipper watched Alice's car arrive. But he didn't go back to the HQ. Someone else was in the car with her. He didn't recognize the person. It was a white male. He was dressed in a tux and had jet black hair. He looked about forty, and serious. He opened the car door, and then Skipper recognized him. It was the zoo's owner. That couldn't be good. They were getting out of the car so he went back. He didn't want to get caught. That could end badly.

Skipper jumped into the HQ not a minute later. He looked around. The boys were still sleeping, and still full of paper cuts from the explosions. The girls were wide awake though. And they were all staring at him. It was kind of awkward. They were looking at him with looks of surprise and confusion. Which he didn't quite understand because he lived there. Shouldn't they know that he would come back sometime? He decided to break the silence. With sarcasm of course.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" Skipper asked with fake sympathy. "How rude of me."

They were all looking at him like he was a total nut job.

He rolled his eyes. "Snap out of it. I didn't disappear." He said impatiently. It was morning, give a guy a break.

That wasn't exactly what they thought they would hear in the morning. Skipper was definitely a strange character. But hey anything was better than the jerks back home.

Skipper went over to the wall near the bunks. He pushed a certain spot and a button appeared.

"Hold your ears. This may be loud." Skipper warned.

They didn't move.

"Suit yourself." He pushed the button. Immediately a loud alarm went off. It was a deafening sound. It forced Kiki and Cassy to their knees.

Kowalski Rico and Private were startled out of their sleep and jumped out of their skins. All three of them fell out of their bunks and landed in a pile on the floor. When they did, Skipper pulled his hand off the button, which then spun back into the wall, and the noise stopped.

"What the hell was that!" Destiny screamed. She didn't like her ears being exploded at seven in the morning. That was just uncalled for.

They boys had gotten up from their pile on the floor and were rubbing their heads.

"Something's not right." Skipper said seriously.

"What's wrong?" Cassy asked, startled, a little scared and confused. She was so quiet that she thought she would have to repeat herself.

"George." He answered.

Rico gasped, Kowalski stiffened, and private got light headed. George was the zoo owner. When he came, something was always wrong.

"Who's- who's George?" Nicky stammered. Whoever George was, he wasn't good. Or wasn't a good sign. By the way the boys reacted, something extremely bad was going to happen. She didn't like not knowing. It made her think of the worst. And the worst for her was traumatizing things.

"George is the owner. And a tall tale sign that all hell's about to break lose." Skipper explained, holding his serious mood. Skipper wasn't a fan of George. George didn't seem to like Skipper either. That was never a god thing.

"So what do we do?" Destiny asked, not wanting to just stand there like an idiot.

"We go up." Kowalski answered, obviously frightened.

"And hope for the best." Private finished.

"You don't want George to find something." Skipper said, in a spooky tone. "If he does… well let's just hope he doesn't"

Then he went up. The bays followed, and the girls went up next.


	7. George

The eight of them watch George as he walked into the zoo. He looked serious, unemotional. Skipper knew that he only kept the zoo for profit. He really didn't like animals. No one talked. The zoo was like a ghost town. Everyone knew that George didn't like noise. Animal noise. And liked to see sophisticated animals. Even Julian learned that. George didn't like the two of them. Skipper and Julian. Skipper was too odd for him and Ringtail was too noisy. Even though Julian was silent when George came, George still hated him. Skipper just couldn't fully pull of the calm sophistication that George wanted. He was silent, most of the time. But he couldn't help glaring at the guy. They all listened to his conversation with Alice.

"Look dear, you are a very good zookeeper. I know because I hired you. But I think that the new ones have really cut down profit." They could tell the George's sympathy was fake. It was very obvious.

"I know but you said that if it came from Nigel no to argue sir." Alice replied. She was intimidated. Her voice proved it.

"Nigel sent you these, creatures?" George asked, confused.

"Yes sir. He said that it wouldn't bother you." Alice informed.

"He did now." George said mostly to himself.

"And why didn't you call me?" He asked.

"W-well because you said to trust Nigel Sir."

"Yes, I think we have already established that. But that gives you no excuse, Alice." George said calmly.

"I'm sorry sir. I thought he would tell you It. sounded as if you already knew."

"Are you sure dear? Did it really seem that way? Because I got no call about this."

"Yes. He sounded like you had confirmed the transfer."

Ah, but you didn't ask did you Alice?"

"No. I-I didn't"

"You should have." George growled.

"I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again"

"I would hope so. Now show me, the silly things."

"Silly things?" Nicky said offended. She wasn't a silly thing.

"He doesn't like penguins." Skipper growled.

Nicky could tell that it was directed towards George.

"Skipper could you at least try not to glare this time?" Kowalski asked, a little annoyed and concerned.

"Fine." Skipper sighed.

It was amazing. He went from glaring with a burning hatred, to completely nothing. He was emotionless.

"Wow." Kiki couldn't help whispered. Even Destiny wasn't that good.

They walked over in complete silence.

"Ah I see we've had an attitude adjustment." George said. He actually had a little hint of happiness in his voice. "I didn't think you would actually do anything when I told you to change him last time. Good job."

Skipper knew that he was talking about him.

"Oh, um yes, he was a little difficult to break. But as you can see, he is, uh, friendlier now." Alice stated, still intimidated.

"Good good. And has he been eating? I got a call from the nutritionist. He was concerned about his eating habits. You do give them the right amount of food yes?" George asked, he sounded a little curious.

"Yes. I give them the amount that the nutritionist told me to. Every other day. But he hasn't changed his eating habits."

"Hmm. That may be a problem later. But for now, he looks fine. It is a tad bit concerning, when a penguin doesn't eat. Not the brightest creatures are they?"

"Well that's insulting." Kowalski stated.

"No kidding." Kiki agreed.

"Yes sir. Not very bright."

"But I don't want another call. So next time he doesn't eat, have someone shove something down his throat."

Skipper swallowed hard. That didn't sound very pleasant.

"He doesn't like you does he?" Destiny asked.

"No. But it's not my fault." Skipper replied.

"Which? The eating or the fact that he doesn't like you?" Kiki asked.

"Both. I don't get hungry, so I don't eat much. And if he was a little nicer I wouldn't hate him, and he wouldn't hate me." Skipper explained. And he believed every word he said. Because it was true.

"Shove something down his throat? But that-"

"Don't argue with me Alice. Just do it." George growled.

"I think you should eat more, whether you're hungry or not." Nicky stated.

"I don't think Alice will listen to him. Sure he scares her. He scares everyone. But she rarely listens to him. Only when there's a third factor, or if he's watching." Skipper explained. They needed to know this. They should. It would help them get on his good side, or decent side. The man wasn't very good. He wasn't evil or anything. He just wasn't very nice.

"When is their next feeding?"

"In about ten minutes why?"

"Give it to them now. I want to see what the nutritionist was so worried about.

"Um okay." Alice replied, confused. She went to get the food.

"I would eat if I were you." He warned. "Or I'll shove something down that little throat of yours." Then he laughed.

Skipper gulped. His appetite was completely ruined.

"Skipper?" Kowalski asked concerned.

"Why me?" He asked.

"I can't answer that." Kowalski replied.

"Telbl runit oo aptie huh?" Rico asked.

"Yup. He did Rico. Told you. Bad things happen when he comes."

"How is that bad for everyone?" Destiny asked.

"I never said it hurt everyone." Skipper replied. He didn't.

"True." Nicky said.

Then Alice came back and threw some fish in the habitat. They all just stared at it for a few minutes. Nicky and Rico were the first to eat. Then Kowalski and Private. Then Cassy and kiki. Then Destiny.

But Skipper had lost his appetite. He didn't want to be force fed so he forced himself to eat. He had two fish. Then he wasn't even slightly hungry anymore. He usually just didn't want to eat. He was always on risk of starving so he learned to live long without food. So he didn't eat much.

Apparently two wasn't enough.

"That wasn't enough penguin." George smiled at Skipper. It sent chills up his spine. "Someone get a cage!"

Skipper sighed. "Here we go."

"Skippah?" Private asked worried.

"I'll be fine Private. I just really hate this guy." Skipper replied.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Destiny asked.

Skipper looked over at Destiny. "You mean do I feel ok about it? Well no, I don't exactly like having things shoved down my throat. But I'm not afraid of it. It won't be very pleasant. But I'll live." Skipper replied calmly.

"Yeah well I don't think anyone would like to be force fed." Kiki stated.

"Nope." Rico agreed.

"How exactly do you get force fed?" Cassy asked.

"Well they open your mouth and basically shove food down your throat." Skipper explained.

"This has happened before huh?" Destiny asked.

"Yeah. Not a lot. But it's happened." Kowalski replied.

Then the plank was laid down.

"You don't struggle with these guys?" Nicky asked.

"What's the point?" Skipper countered, "They'll still get you. They'll just be angry."

Then a cage was dropped on him. They took him to the infirmary. There two doctors and George were waiting.

"Ah there he is." George said when Skipper arrived.

"Shall we?" One of the doctors asked.

"No." Skipper said. But he knew they couldn't understand him.

George smiled. "Of course."

"Someone save me." Skipper pleaded with no one. He really hated being force fed.

They took him out of the cage and laid him down an a table. It was ice cold against his feathers. Nothing new.

One doctor held him down and the other held his beak open. He did fight with his beak. The doctor was stronger than his beak so his beak remained open.

George leaned down and looked Skipper in the eye. "I'll make sure this is extremely unpleasant for you."

Skipper growled at him through his throat.

George laughed. "Let's start."

And he did.

Skipper felt the fish. He gagged on it, tried to close his throat and spit it out. But George wouldn't let him win. Skipper had no choice but to swallow.

He had just enough time to get a gasp of air before the next one.

George shoved about ten fish down his throat. The doctors told him to stop at five. But he was determined to make Skipper sick. And he succeeded.

When George finally stopped Skipper was almost a hundred percent sure that He would throw up. Nothing changed when he was put back into the habitat. He immediately collapsed and grabbed his stomach.

Kowalski came up to him first.

"Skipper?" He asked concerned.

"Oh god." Skipper moaned. His stomach had never hurt as bad as it did right now. He had never felt so sick in his entire life. He could hear George laughing.

"Skippah?" Private asked worried. He walked up to the other side of Skipper. Skipper never got sick. Never. And he usually was just annoyed when he had to get force fed. He never ate a lot. And he looked healthy. The doctors even said he had perfect health. But he was force fed just to make sure he got enough nutrition. Skipper usually let go of his anger after a few hours. He didn't take to keeping grudges. He didn't like them. Or so it seemed that way.

"Back up." Skipper croaked. He felt like he was going to throw up. Only he knew he was going to.

"What?" Private asked. He didn't understand. Why would they need to back up? They were trying to help him.

"Back, up." He said louder.

They didn't to, they wanted to stay there and help him.

Kowalski looked over at Private. Private looked back. They both gave looks of confusion but backed up anyway. A few seconds later they found out why they were told to back up.

Skipper threw up. It was an odd and disturbing experience for him. He hadn't thrown up in years. And he didn't miss it. The taste in his mouth was awful. He had a ripping head ach. His stomach still hurt like hell. And he still felt like he would throw up.

And he did. Several more times.

This awarded George with several growls from all of them. Except Skipper. All seven of them. The girls thought that taking pleasure in anyone's discomfort was just plain wrong. The boys' hated when George came. Something always happened to Skipper. This was just mutiny.

George laughed harder after Skipper threw up.

Skipper felt like he was going to pass out. He had put both of his flippers down in front of him to hold himself up. But that wasn't enough. He felt himself losing strength. Sinking slowly towards the ground. The puke infested ground.

Rico did too. He turned his attention away from growling just in time to see Skipper slowly losing strength. He walked up behind Skipper, sat down, and pulled Skipper back. Skipper was now leaning on him, and not falling into his own puke. That would be gross. And the thought almost made Rico throw up.

Skipper felt Rico pull him back. And honestly if he wasn't so worm out and sick, it would've been a lot more awkward. But he didn't think he could stay awake much longer. He didn't know why. It was like the fish, that George had so rudely thrown down his throat, were spiked with something. But he was too, dazed to think about it. He did know that it would've been unpleasant to fall into his puke. So he was grateful.

"Uhhh…. Walski?" Rico called. He too felt a little awkward. He was glad that he had saved Skipper from a gross encounter. But now it was a little uncomfortable.

Kowalski turned around, as did Private and the others.

"Ah! Rico what happened." Kowalski asked startled as he rushed over. He pulled Skipper off of Rico and laid him down a few feet away.

"Hedu yogr to shiombo en alou." Rico explained frantically.

"Well. That wouldn't have been very pleasant." Private said grossed out.

"Nope." Rico agreed.

"Well then it's a good thing you pulled him away." Kowalski said wit relief.

"But if he just threw up because he felt sick… why is he so tired?" Kiki asked. "I mean being sick shouldn't K.O. you so quickly." She said confused.

"Shh! Listen." Destiny said.

"Oh Viny. It's been a while since I've seen you." George said casually.

"What happened here?" Viny asked, seriously.

"Here? Well the stupid thing got sick." George replied.

"Not stupid." Skipper moaned.

"Shush, Skipper." Destiny said sympathetically.

Kiki looked at her. Destiny didn't know it, and would probably deny it, but she would make a good nurse.

"Well what did you do?" Viny demanded.

"Me? Why did I have to do something?" George asked defensively.

"Because George, The workers here know how to take care fo the animals. In other words, they know how to keep them healthy, most of the time, and not sick!" Viny explained harshly. "But whenever you make one of your little visits, someone either gets sick or hurt and need medical attention. For example, the last three times that you visited, this guy," He waved an arm at Skipper, "Has needed some medical help."

"So?" George asked, his voice said that he didn't care.

"So. What did you do this time!"

"He wasn't eating so I fed him." George replied innocently.

"Fed him what?"

"Fish of course! I'm not an idiot."

"How many did you feed him? No more than six I hope."

"Six? What is that? The minimum?" George asked.

"Oh. My. God." Viny said in disbeliefe. "How many did you shove down his throat this time George?"

"Just a few." He replied, suspiciously.

"How many George? Just tell me how many." Viny said. He obviously feared for Skipper. He had a pleading voice as if he hoped it was seven of eight. Something that wouldn't really matter.

"Oh I don't know. Twelve maybe." George replied casually.

"TWELVE!" Viny shouted. "Oh my…." What kind of fish did you give him?"

"This," He pulled out a fish.

Viny examined it. His eyes widened. "These are rotting!" He shouted. "Are you trying to kill the poor thing!"

"Well I wasn't this time. Why is it bad? It's still a fish no?" George asked carelessly.

"Feeding a penguin these is like feeding it poison!" Viny explained, angered and impatient.

"Woops."

"Are you stupid!"

"No why would you say that?" George asked. He sounded insulted, but not severely.

"Because if you were going to feed a penguin you should at least check to see if the fish are rotting. If they smell like garbage than they will make the creature sick." Viny explained. Impatiently.

"Talk nicer will you? I can get you fired. So let the thing be sick, he'll get over it." George replied, going back to being careless.

"Stupid human." Destiny growled.

"You don't like him? He has such a good charm." Nicky said sarcastically. Heavily sarcastic.

"I don't like people who take joy in others discomfort and pain." Destiny growled.

"You can't have me fired." Viny said confidently. "I was hired by the state to insure that the animals here aren't abused. And if this continues _I _ will be the one who gets _you_ fired."

They were silent for a moment.

"So leave the animals in peace. Came look around, make an adjustment if needed and be on your way Mr. Srofflin." Viny demanded.

"Fine. Now what are you going to do?" George asked annoyed.

"Well he needs help right way. I can provide you with that if you would like." Viny replied.

"Fine. How much will you need?"

"Well for the medical one thousand. The fine will be sixty." Viny said, pissed.

"Sixty..?"

"Thousand."

"That's an awful lot no?"

"Do you want to go to jail Mr. Strofflin?"

"No. I was just asking." George replied. "What is the fine for?"

"Animal abuse." Viny said flatly.

"Excuse me?" George said shocked.

"You didn't check the fish that poisoned the penguin, so you are responsible. You deliberately poisoned this animal. That is a form of abuse." Viny explained harshly.

"Fine." George growled. He wrote out a check and handed it to Viny. "Fix him and be on your way." Then George left.

"Get the poor creature and bring him to the infirmary." Viny ordered. He sounded sad. He was a nice guy, so he probably was.

Skipper couldn't see straight, he couldn't hear very well either. He felt terrible, like a drunk. He was numb to. He knew that he was picked up and put in a cage. But he didn't feel anything. The only words that he could make out were 'poor thing' and Stomach pumped'. That sounded fun. He almost threw up again thinking about it. He was going to get his stomach pumped. Could this week get any worse?

So they…. Made him bettter for the less gross simple explination. He was just glad when he got to sleep that night. No one really talked to him. Kowalski and Private asked him if he was ok. He glared at both of them. He was. They knew he was. But he just needed the day to be done. Severely needed the day to be done.

The next day he was back to himself, sort of. Things moved along.

The rest of the week passed without an incident. Skipper was done with discomfort and pain for the week. After the second day Skipper was Skipper again.

Then came Sunday, the beginning of another not so happy week.

Life is fun isn't it?


	8. Nicky

Kiki and Kowalski tried to get as much alone time as possible without making everyone suspicious. Destiny and Skipper were making that difficult. One of them would object to them staying at the HQ together most of the time. But they did get some alone time. That was something.

The girls trained at the pond and the boys at the habitat. They did mostly the same stuff. Destiny showed the girls a more robotic, stiff way of fighting. Skipper showed the guys a more flowing way to fight. It was still dangerous, and effective. But his way of fighting was more like…. A masters'. Destiny's way of fighting was just as lethal, but often made muscles stiff from being so tense.

Monday they let Nicky and Rico stay at the HQ to organize their weapons.

Rico had laid out all his explosives in height order and level of damage. He laid out his other weapons, Flamethrower, chainsaw, crowbar, knives, grenade launchers, sticks, pipes, and other guns, in order of the damage that they caused.

Nicky was amazed at how many weapons that he had. They were every color under the sun. There was a small blue gun with black and green lines going up the side, it had what looked to be a claw in the front. It had to shot a laser. There was usually a claw looking contraption on the part of the gun that shot out lasers. So it was some type of laser gun. There was a bazooka that was red with orange and yellow flames going up the side and white dots where the flames didn't touch. The chainsaw was a dull red, but it looked marvelous. She didn't know why Skipper would want sticks as a weapon…unless he intended to use them when an enemy took away the weapons and didn't think twice about the sticks. He didn't seem it, but Skipper was smart. Very clever.

She did the same with her weapons. But hers were black, gray, red, yellow, blue and orange. And each gun had only one color. But Rico's weapons were colorful. And when she looked closer at his weapons, she noticed that they had little holes in them. Not deep holes, but holes none the less. Then she thought of camouflage. The little holes were for camouflage. Destiny was wrong. Boys can be smart too.

She was staring at his weapons and completely forgot about Rico.

At first Rico was confused. He was so used to his weapons and their color that he forgot how different they looked from ordinary weapons. He was still trying to figure if he should reorganize them in a different way. But Skipper only said to organize his weapons. He didn't say how.

He looked over at Nicky. She was cute. He didn't want to tell her. And even if he did. She wouldn't understand a word he said. Only the guys did. And Skipper wouldn't approve of his love for Nicky.

He saw how she defended Kiki. She was strong willed and strong minded. Not at all crazy like him. Everything about her was different, spectacular. She had deep purple eyes that flamed when she got mad. Or so it seemed by the way they looked when she was arguing with Destiny. She looked strong. She could definitely beat him to a pulp if she wanted to. She looked hypnotized by his weapons. She liked weapons too. He was glad. He loved weapons. And painting. But she would probably hate painting. She didn't seem like the painting type.

She looked up to see him staring at her. She was startled.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked shyly. He was handsome. Mighty cute. He had light blue eyes. Not extremely light but light. And a bundle of feathers that stuck up on his head. He had a Mohawk. That was cute. She had never met a penguin that had a Mohawk. Penguins don't have Mohawks. He was different. In a good way. She was curious about the crack that was on the corner of his beak. It gave him a wild look. She was completely fine with a wild boy. He may be fun. So long as he was responsible, respectful, and slightly protective. There was one thing that she knew for sure. She had to get to know Rico better.

Rico felt the same way. But he didn't want to talk because she wouldn't understand him. But he had to answer her question.

"Nope." He said casually. He couldn't really say no. It didn't sound normal. It sounded cracked and unpleasant. 'Nope' usually came out smoothly.

"That's good. Cuz I don't want to seem like a creep." Nicky said relieved that she didn't scare him away. "You don't think I'm a creep, do you?"

"Nope." Rico replied, confidently. Though he knew she'd find out sometime that he couldn't speak English very well.

"Um…. Can you say anything else?" Nicky asked. He had only said that one word. It was weird. Boys usually said…..stuff, to her. Rico waited for her to speak. That was a nice change.

"Uh….Nope." Rico replied shyly. She would laugh at him now. The only ones who hadn't laughed at him were the fellow zoo livers, the guys, Manfredi and Johnson. Everyone else laughed when they learned his speaking flaw. Every one.

"Oh…" Nicky replied shocked. She didn't expect that. She expected a smart ass reply like the boys back home usually gave. But she should stop comparing these boys to those. These ones were very different. In lots of ways. This one was too. Rico. He was upset at the fact that he couldn't speak. She would be to if she couldn't speak. But he seemed nice. And if he could talk, she would learn how to understand him. He understood English.

"You don't like it do you?" Nicky asked sympathetically, "You want to talk."

"Yup." Rico replied sadly. He did want to be able to talk normally. He would kill to be able to talk normally. Then he wouldn't be so nervous about trying to talk to girls like Nicky. Then he would be able to face the consequences of speaking his mind. Instead of no one understanding him. Instead of feeling like he was constantly in his own world.

"Do you speak… a different language?" Nicky asked, curiously.

This made Rico happy. If she learned how he spoke, then she would always understand him! "Yup. Geabldush." He replied happily.

"What?" Nicky asked confused.

"Geabldush." Rico said less happy, and less confident.

"Geabldush geabldush… jublush, jublush…" Nicky said quietly, to herself trying to figure out what he just said.

Rico caught a glimpse of hope that Nicky might actually understand, and held onto it.

"Jublish…jublish….Jiblish…jibrish…gibberish… GIBBERISH!" She shouted happily. "Your language is gibberish."

"Yup yup yup yup." Rico replied overjoyed. She figured it out. Nicky actually figured out what he said. He was extremely happy.

"That wasn't so hard. It was almost obvious." Nicky said calmly, and curious. She still wanted to know the rest of his language.

"Raldy?" Rico asked, a little surpised.

"Raldy? Really? Well… yeah. It wasn't that hard. Just took a little work." She replied.

Rico couldn't help staring at her. This was the same girl that looked ready to tear Destiny apart not too long ago.

Well like Manfredi once said. There is always two sides to every story. And there were two sides to every person. The bad side. And the good. She was just showing Rico her good side.

He smiled at her. There really was someone for him. And Nicky was that somebody. He was almost one hundred percent sure.

"So? Can you teach me gibberish?" She asked with a smile.

"Uh.. yup." He replied.

They spent the next five hours decoding his words. By the time they were done, Nicky was exhausted. But she could fully understand him. He had to use a little keyboard speaker to translate some words.

"Grest." Rico said.

"No." Nicky moaned, playfully. "No test teacher."

"Yup. Grest." Rico insisted.

"Fine." Nicky sighed. But she smiled. They had had a lot a fun learning gibberish. Rico made it fun. He played charades and acted like a mime. Sometimes she would mirror him. It was fun. For both it seemed.

"Yeye geave, lnoche peezzah." Rico said.

"I have no pizza." Nicky said confidently. "Do we have pizza? Cuz I'm hungry." Nicky asked.

"Yup." Rico laughed.

"To both?" Nicky asked hopefully.

"Yup."

"Yay!" She said happily. Pizza was one of her favorite foods. And she was glad that she could now understand him.

Rico went outside. Nicky followed.

"You keep your Pizza outside?" She asked confused. Why was she outside. They had a fridge. And a microwave. Why wouldn't they just keep it in the secret home type place? It just didn't make any sense what so ever.

Then Rico coughed up a long coat, a top hat, gloves, and four sticks. Two were for feet, they had little slits where each foot went. The other two had handles for hands, or flippers.

"What's this stuff for." Nicky asked curiously. She wanted to know what they would need all of this stuff for if they were just getting pizza.

"Weaglert getrighin peezah." Rico replied. He knew what they were doing. They would use the stuff to look more like a human, and they would use the mechanic speaker to order. Like the guys often did when they were hungry for takeout.

"I know that. But why the coat and the gloves and stuff?" Nicky asked, she still didn't understand.

Rico sighed. "Dwreftegah urechpluh avtuh umah." Rico explained.

"What!" Nicky asked surprised, and a little startled. How could they dress up as a human? It was just… impossible. She had never done anything so…. So stupid….so, so risky. She wanted to try it. Desperately. Every instinct told her not to. But she had a heart for wild, dangerous, and risky stunts. This was one, so she had to do it.

"Dwreftegah avtuh umah." Rico repeated. It wasn't very hard.

Nicky thought. Trying to decide if she was really going to follow danger hungry heart. Or safe instinct. The danger hungry heart won. "Let's do it!" She said excitedly. "Just show me how."

'Yup." Rico said happily. She didn't sound like she would want to before. But now it was decided.

Rico showed her how to operate the top half. How to grab the pizza box and hold it until the pizza man went away. It only took twenty minutes. Half the time Nicky was practicing. She fumbled a few times but she finally got it.

Then they made the call. They had to use the talker box. That's what they decided to call the mechanic speaker.

"We. Would. Like. To. Order. A. large. Pizza. With everything." They had it say.

"Ok" came a voice from the other end. It sounded like a middle aged man. "That will be ten nineteen."

"Thank. You." They typed.

"Ten nineteen?" Nicky asked. "Where are we going to get that?" She asked skeptically.

"Foun…tain." Rico croaked.

"The wishing fountain?" Nicky asked. That's what she thought he said. But she wasn't sure.

"Yup." Rico replied confidently.

"Ok."

So they went and got Ten dollars and nineteen cents from the fountain. Then they got into the human costume and waited for the pizza man.

He didn't come fast.

"So how did you lose your voice?" Nicky asked curiously. "I mean if it's not too much." She didn't want to get him angry or upset.

"Naw." Rico replied casually. Then he told her how he lost his voice. He was on a mission with the guys. They were still kind of young then. And less observant. That's what got then in trouble that night. It was late October when Blowhole created the machine. He said it would blow up the moon. Well after a quick science lesson from Kowalski, they deemed it necessary to thwart his evil plans. So they went to his evil layer, he forgot where it was, somewhere in Missouri. Upon arrival, Skipper and Kowalski were captured in nets and unable to help because in the nets were filled with evil lobsters. So it was up to him and Private. Back then Blowhole wasn't very smart. He told them which button to push. The only problem was getting there. They came up with a plan. Private would run and push the button, and he would cause a distraction. And he did. He juggled bombs… that were lit. In other words Blowhole was distracted by the possibility that one of his enemies would kill himself. But he soon realized that it was just a distraction. He turned around just in time to see Private push the button and disarm the moon blaster gun, ray, thingy. They never found out what it really was. But after the machine was powered down Blowhole had a fit. Not a three year olds temper tantrum. No, he had an evil smart guy fit. Blowhole threw three pieces of scrap metal at him. One landed on his beak, one in his throat, and one grazed his foot. It critically hurt him. But that wasn't enough. He also threw some scrap metal at Skipper and Kowalski. Most of it hit Skipper. Private hid behind the control board. The pieces of scrap metal broke open the nets sending Skipper and Kowalski crashing to the ground. They both started running towards him but only Kowalski made it. Kowalski helped him the best he could, but he still needed expert help. Skipper had fallen. He had multiple wounds around his chest, stomach, side, and head. But he had taken his eyes off of Skipper to look for Private. And when he looked back, Skipper was gone. They didn't have time to look for him. But Kowalski promised to look after he got help. So Kowalski took him and Private back to the zoo. The doctors took him and Kowalski and put Private back in the habitat. The next day Skipper crashed into the infirmary like a comet. The doctors bandaged and fixed him up, but he didn't remember what happened. They were all fine except him. They were all alive, and could do everything that they could do before. But he could no longer talk right. It was the piece of metal that flew into his neck that did that. It had to be. They were all mad for a few days. But then they let go and started to learn his new language. How to understand it at least. Skipper learned faster than the others. But in time they knew every word. And could learn new ones in minutes. So for now he was okay with it. The only problem was talking to new people. Because they didn't understand him.

"Wow." Nicky said in astonishment. That was scary and amazing at the same time. Rico spared her the gore and bloody part of the story. But she knew that he was in some serious pain. He had to be. And the others probably were too. But to have anything land in your neck has to be terrifying. "It's amazing that you're still here."

Rico laughed nervously. She was right. He could've died right there. Right when it happened. But he didn't. And he was glad. He liked living. "Yup." He said proudly.

Nicky was standing on top of Rico un the human costume.

The Pizza man came two minutes after Rico finished his story. They gave him the money took the pizza and stood there until he left. Then they brought the pizza back to the HQ and ate.

Authors Note….: I forgot to tell you guys….. The two songs that Kiki played for Kowalski.

The first one was "Lullaby" by Marly Haggard and the second one was "It's ok" by Cee Lo Green. So yeah there you go.

And I have decided on something so I will warn you now….. you can stop reading this story at two points. Where the first round of problems ends

Or at the final end. It's up to you. So if you are happy with the way things lay at the end of problem set one. Then you are free to stop.

I was just letting you know…. Now ON WITH THE STORY…..

Oh and thank for the reviews…. Feel free to tell me when I mess up. I say POWER TO THE READERS!

Bye 'till next chapt! XD CX


	9. Secrets

When they went back to the habitat they watch a movie and ate the pizza, and talked. They were watching, "Night of the Living Dead" They were both fascinated by the graphics. It was an arsenal expert thing. They had both seen what weapons can do. They kill and damage and turn people into savages. Nothing new. But they were both feeling nervous too. They didn't know what to say and were both terrible at small talk.

Rico had to say something, he just had to. The silence that had settled between them was unsettling. Uncomfortable. He hated it.

"So Rico." Nicky started. She wasn't going to think anymore. She was just going to let her mind run free. That was one of the things that Destiny hated. Destiny absolutely couldn't stand when Nicky let her mind run. It just annoyed her. Especially after she had been stressed not too shortly before. It wasn't a very smart thing to do. But Nicky always did it when she was sick of thinking. No one knew that. They thought that she did it to waste time. to make thing happen. For negative attention, Kiki always says. But that was the exact opposite. And sometimes it helped them. So it wasn't all that bad. "Um what's your favorite color?"

Rico raised an eyebrow at her. Where did that come from? It was so out of the blue. And cute. In a way. He had to answer her. He couldn't let her hang like that. "Umm… wed." He replied, smiling. He liked her. She was random. Like him. Wild. He like liked her.

"Really?" She asked, she didn't like the color red. She didn't know why either. She just didn't like it. "Well mines green." She informed.

Green? Girls like the color green? Rico always thought that they like the purples and pinks better. But green? This Nicky was full of surprises. He liked it. "Ahble yolt balduh1jheato?" Rico asked. He was curious. His was mousetrap. He didn't know why. It entertained him. It was fun to play too. That's probably why he liked the game so much. Everything was so.. different from other games. It was well.. a trap for the players mouse.

"My favorite game?" Nicky asked surprised. Color changed to game. That wasn't exactly what she had expected. Maybe why or what her favorite weapon was. But game? She didn't think he liked games. She liked games. "Ummm.. I think my favorite game would have to be…Mouse trap." She said confidently. She thought that he would laugh. Or ask her what Mouse trap was. But when she looked at him, he was beaming. He looked excited and happy. Nicky was confused. Why did he look soo happy?

"Me coo!" He explained. He couldn't believe it. He thought that she would like a more sophisticated game. Not a child's game like Mouse trap. Now he could finally play it again.

"Really!" Nicky was totally surprised. No one that she had ever met before, well no guy, had ever like mouse trap. No guy even knew what it was. "You do? That's awesome!" She shouted. She was usually calmer. More to the sad, tough type. But Rico, he made her happy, and excited. Like a kid at Christmas. It was amazing. And she could actually tell him things that she wouldn't be able to tell anyone else. She felt protected around him. Like he could be trusted. She felt an abnormal trustworthiness in him. But she shrugged it away. He was perfect. Wild and caring, and he seemed to like her. So why couldn't she like him? Innocent love. There's nothing wrong with that.

"Yolb annu ayki?" Rico asked hopefully. He really wanted to play mouse trap now. He thought he would die if he didn't. But not with just anyone. He felt he would die if he didn't play it with _her_. It was a weird feeling, that made him feel like he had butterflies in his stomach. If you have ever been with someone that took your breath away without trying, and made you feel like it was ok to be who you were at all times, someone who liked you for you. That's how Rico felt. And although it felt weird, he liked it.

"Of course I do silly!" She said happily and excited. "Do you have the game?" She asked hopefully. It would be very disappointing if he didn't have the game. Then they would've gotten all excited for nothing.

He answered her by coughing up a cardboard box with the words _Mouse Trap_ on it with big yellow letters and a picture of the game in the background. He smiled. He wouldn't get her all amped for nothing. He may have been wild and free minded. But he wasn't cruel. Not to good people. Only bad ones'.

"That's cool." She said in awe. " I mean that you can carry all of this stuff in you stomach and still have room for food to get ya know digested in stuff." She complimented. It really was cool. She thought it just added to his wildness. She liked it. Well she liked him. For him. But the abnormal stuff that he could do added to it.

"Aw." Rico replied, tilting his head away and waving a flipper at her.

Nicky giggled. She never giggled. Never in her entire life has she giggled. She has laughed and chuckled. But never giggled. But she didn't look surprised. That would ruin the moment.

"I mean it." She laughed. She wished that Rico was the first guy that she met. Then she wouldn't have such a bad look on guys. But even with that. Rico had still changed her mind completely. That took skill.

Rico smiled at her. then

He opened the box and they set up the game.

"You're going down pretty boy." She said in a threatening voice, eyes narrowed.

Rico had narrow eyes as well, and growled at her.

They were in game mode. They were fooling around. It was fun. But they looked like they were about to kill each other.

"Your move." Nicky said.

"Yup." Rico replied.

And the game began. Many times they got each other onto the "cheese weal" and the trap failed. They both won twice before they decided to put the game away. They had fun. And played as if they wanted to kill each other's mouse.

"Well Mr. you are quite the Mouse trapper." Nicky complimented.

"You. Ooo to." Rico replied.

"Why thank you. What do you think they're doing?" Nicky asked. She had been alone with Rico for about eight hours. Something had to have happened.

"Huh?" Rico asked confused. Who was she talking about? He didn't think about anyone but them in the time that they had spent alone. Who was she thinking about?

"The guys. You know. Destiny, and Kiki, and, Cassy, And your friends." Nicky explained.

"Oh. Iuhno." Rico replied clueless. Come to think of it. It was kind of odd that they had been gone for so long. Especiall with him alone with her. It was hard to leave them alone in the first place.

"Hmm. Well they'll definitely want to know what we did." Nicky sighed. If Destiny found out about what they did. She would kill Nicky. And Rico would have to deal with Skipper. She looked over at Rico, yeah she could tell be the look on his face that he would get a beat down to. That wasn't good. But she had a good time so she didn't regret it.

"No tell." Rico said. He sounded like a three year old arguing with his mother. A serious argument too. But that was just because of what Blowhole did.

Nicky knew that now. And she agreed with him. They should keep it a secret. For now. "Yes we won't tell." She really didn't want to tell. And she knew her stomach would kill her later.

Rico nodded. Then they both sighed. There was one problem temporarily averted. But how long would they be able to keep their blossoming love a secret? That would be interesting to find out.

And painful.

They both went back to the table where their weapons were and talked there what the fiddled with their weapons. So they looked like that's what they had been doing the whole time.

"So Rico, what's your favorite weapon?" Nicky asked. It was obviose that he liked weapons. But she was curious to find out his favorite. He could usually tell what weapon would suit every person she met. Like Cassy was probably a stick. Kiki was a plasma ray. That apparently Kowalski had invented. And Destiny's was a hyper powered, long distance, accuracy, bazooka. Or the medieval weapons. The sword and shield and spear stuff. She was a good swordsman too. Nicky herself liked the good 'ol trustworthy pick ax. Got the job done, was easy to carry and left no evidence. Well… besides the damage. And any dust or dirt or residue could be easily wiped away. Good old trustworthy pick ax.

Rico held up his chainsaw. He loved his chainsaw. He loved the sound it made when it's motor turned on. He loved the sound that it made when it cut through stuff. He loved the vibrations that it gave off when he turned it on. He just loved it.

"The chainsaw huh?" She asked. "Yeah that's a good one." It was a lot like the pick ax. It was easy to clean and hold. And you could do the same damage with it s a pick ax. So it was a good choice.

Just like their choice to pretend to be fiddling with their weapons. Because Skipper, Destiny and the others' jumped down into the HQ.

"There." Nicky said, like she had finally put everything where she thought it belonged. She just put her pick ax back down.

Rico gave an accomplished 'hmpf' and put his flippers on his hips.

It was so stupid. But it was enough.

"You two spent two hours organizing you weapons?" Cassy asked skeptically. She didn't think it was possible. They were both completely insane.

Rico had re-swallowed the game and they had thrown the pizza stuff in the dumpster by the back of the zoo.

Rico shrugged. It wasn't really that bad. Even if that was what they had been doing. It wasn't that exciting.

"Yeah. Why?" Nicky asked, with attitude. She was back to her calm sadder mind set. The fun with Rico was done for the day. And it was fun. But she went right back to her regular attitude.

"What's your deal?" Destiny snapped. Nicky was unusually on edge. More than she would normally be. And she wasn't in the mood to deal with Nicky's attitudes.

Nicky stared at Destiny, narrow eyed. She knew it wasn't the best thing to do. But she couldn't help it. De had ruined her fun. "Nothing." She answered, still with attitude. Then she turned back to her weapons to try to get a hold of herself.

"Rico. What did you really do this whole time?" Skipper carefully. He knew something was wrong. He felt it. It was the same feeling that he got after Kowalski returned with Kiki. Something had happened.

"Wha?" Rico asked confused. He was faking it. And it was very convincing. He had to do everything that he could possibly do to remain with Nicky. Secretly with Nicky. He didn't want to ruin things.

"What do you mean what, soldier?" Skipper growled, "I asked you a question."

Rico pointed to his weapons, "Tada." He said and smiled.

"For eight hours?" Private asked. Rico was never really that determined. He was usually a three hour work guy. Private was confused. Why would Rico work on organization for eight hours. He was starting to see why Skipper seemed so skeptical of Rico. He too thought that something else had to have happened.

"Hmm." Skipper replied thoughtfully. He didn't fully trust Rico's explanation. But Rico wasn't about to change it. So he would have to keep an eye on him. "Fine. But I'm going to keep an eye on you Rico. I want no funny business. Got it!"

"Yup." Rico nodded. He felt guilty though. He never really lied to Skipper. In fact if he wanted to keep something a secret but couldn't hold it himself, Skipper was the first person he would go to. But he didn't want to start an unnecessary fight. So he would have to let his stomach kill him for now.

"Nicky." Destiny growled. Nicky owed her some respect. All she did was ask a question. Nicky didn't have to give her an attitude.

Nicky took a deep breath. She needed to calm down so she would be able to think straight. "Yes De." She replied, as calm as she could get without frustrating herself. It was hard for he to calm herself normally. It just didn't come easy to her. It was odd. But it was true. And it annoyed everyone, including herself.

"Answer my question." She commanded sngrilly.

Nicky turned back to Destiny and walked right up to her face. De just didn't know when to quit. That's what it seemed. But that wasn't the case this time. It was Nicky. She had put too much attitude into her response. Disrespected Destiny. Too much attitude disrespected anyone. But Nicky couldn't get a hold of herself. Never a good thing.

"Why don't you back off for once." Nicky hissed.

Destiny shoved her back. "Because you're hiding something. And it's nothing good." Destiny growled.

"How do you know?" Nicky snapped.

"I can feel it." Destiny replied.

"Well you're wrong." Nicky hissed.

"No. You're hiding something. What is it Nick?" Destiny, said threateningly.

"None. Of. Your. Business." She replied.

"Of course it is. What did you do all day Nick. And don't tell me you played with the weapons. We all know it's a lie."

Nicky had enough. This was going nowhere fast. She couldn't control it anymore. "BACK OFF DE!" She shouted angrily. She hated when Destiny pressed her like that. It always worked. She always got the truth. But she wouldn't this time. Nicky wasn't about to get the two of them in trouble. It just wasn't happening.

Destiny growled not sure of what she should do. She was trying to keep a hold on her anger. And so for it had worked. But Nicky was making it hard. Why couldn't she just tell the truth? How hard was it?

Nicky back away from Destiny. She looked like she was ready to kill her. Nicky knew she made a mistake. Especially with Destiny between her an

Nicky back away from Destiny. She looked like she was ready to kill her. Nicky knew she made a mistake. Especially with Destiny between her and _both_ escapes. Yeah, Destiny was standing between the door and the hatch. Nicky was screwed.

Skipper was still staring at Rico. If Rico didn't find a way to break eye contact soon. It was over. Out would go the secret… and in would come the pain. Mental and physical.


	10. silent night

It is never a good idea to have two dangerous people very angered at the exact same time.

""L-l-look, De, I-I-I-I'm s-sorry. Y-y-you Kn-kn-know that I-I Have T-t-tr-trouble contr-trolling mys-s-self somt-t-times." Nicky stuttered. Destiny was about to kill her. Nicky knew. She could sense it. There was no stopping her now. Nicky had backed straight up to the wall. Destiny was still between her and both exits. Now was a good time to panic. The incident between Kiki and De flashed through her head. It was going to happen again. Only instead of Kiki… it was going to be her.

Destiny kept walking towards Nicky. She let her temper go too far. And now she couldn't stop it. She was going to seriously hurt Nick. And she didn't want to. She wanted to do what she promised she'd do. Control her temper. Stop _**this **_from happening. But she let her temper slip out of control. And Nicky was going to pay for it. Part of her thought that Nicky deserved it. She had so much attitude. Something had happened and she was keeping it a secret. They never had secrets between each other. That had set her off even more. But the other half of her told her that Nicky needed a slap or a few bruises. Not a total beat down. Not what she did to Kiki. No one deserved that. No one.

Kiki couldn't let Nicky get hurt the way that she did. Nicky had stood up for her. Protected her from De's wrath. Now it was her turn to protect Nicky. And she had the perfect weapon. Destiny made a promise. Kiki had to remind her that she had a promise to keep. And fast. Destiny was getting closer and closer to Nick. She couldn't make an introduction. She had to just blurt it out. And she did.

"Destiny you promised." She said forcefully.

Everything froze.

Destiny stopped. Frozen in her path. She knew that. She knew that she had a promise to keep. But she couldn't find the will power to get a grip of her temper. Kiki just did it for her.

Nicky watched Destiny calm herself down. She remembered now. Destiny never broke a promise. Willfully. Nicky might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but she knew Destiny like the back of her hand. She didn't want to hurt Nick. Not badly anyway. That thought calmed Nick down completely. Kiki had gotten Destiny's temper to calm down enough for her to get a grip on it. She saved Nicky. And Nicky would absolutely have to thank her later. No doubt about it.

Destiny backed away from Nicky. She put her face in her hands and shook her head. She couldn't believe that she lost her grip. She just couldn't believe that she let her temper roam free. "I'm sorry Nick." She sighed.

She didn't give Nicky any time to reply. She left. She went to the pond. That is where they were all day. Exploring so the girls, minus Nick, could meet all of the boys' outside friends. Her favorite was roger. He was smart and idiotic, Friendly and serious. He was different. Everyone here was. But she liked the pond. It was calm. Peaceful. And quiet. Destiny needed the quiet. She needed to get herself under control again.

Nicky just stood there. Dumb struck. Something was bothering Destiny. And she didn't understand it. What promise did he make? And how did it make her... Well, run away. She had one thought at where she could've gone. The pond. When she went there to get Tiki, The pond was still. It seemed like a calm, peaceful, and quiet place. Destiny always went to those types of places when she scared herself, needed to think, or needed to calm down. Judging by how quickly she left, Nicky guessed that it was all three this time. She sighed. It was really her fault. She instigated De. She made the problem worse. She was keeping a secret, yes. But she could've done a better job at hiding it. Like Rico.

Rico had been staring at Skipper for a few minutes now. He was about to break, but he wasn't about to let that happen. He turned away and went to his weapons. He swallowed them all then turned back to skipper. It was nine o'clock at night. He usually stayed up 'till ten. But he did get tired sometimes and fell asleep at nine. So it wasn't abnormal.

So Rico went to sleep. Private went with Kowalski to his lab. Kowalski wanted to work on a few things and requested Privates help.

Skipper went back up to the clock tower. He had been doing so every night for the past week. He did sleep yesterday, Monday, Because Private pleaded him to. That's when he heard it.

Destiny was sitting at the pond. She needed to sleep. She wanted to sleep. So, like she did many nights back at her old home, she sang herself to sleep. It was the first week of December. Tuesday The 2nd. So she sang a Christmas song.

It was dark out. Pitch black almost. If not for the moon, it would be very dark. The moon lit the pond with a million diamonds. It was the perfect time for the song.

"Silent night, holy night  
All is calm, all is bright  
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child  
Holy Infant so tender and mild  
Sleep in heavenly peace  
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!  
Shepherds quake at the sight  
Glories stream from heaven afar  
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!  
Christ, the Saviour is born  
Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night  
Son of God, love's pure light  
Radiant beams from Thy holy face  
With the dawn of redeeming grace  
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth  
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "

She sang it again. And again. Until she fell backwards onto the frozen grass. She fell asleep. And she needed to.

Skipper was standing on the outside wall of the zoo. Destiny had just sang herself to sleep. And almost made him pass out too. He had such an angelic voice. She had demonstrated toughness. Harsh and strong personalities. The only hint of softness was when she watched over Kiki that one night. But this, this was a pure display of talent. And a soft spot. Skipper thought about himself. He wasn't so outward with his heart. So he knew how it felt to be so misunderstood. But he didn't know if she felt that way. He did. He was called psychotic. Insane, silly. No one saw the heart behind all of it. He remembered how Johnson had described him. Like a snail. Not slow, but soft on the inside, and a hard shell on the outside. Hr told Skipper about two snails breaking each others shell and replacing it with their love.. bla bla bla.

Skipper laughed to himself. How would anyone ever fall in love with him. Every girl that he had fell in love with. Had either rejected him. Hated him, or just acted like they were in love to get to know him. And his secrets. So that they could use them against him. So he locked his heart up. And would never set it free. Because no one liked him, for being himself.

Destiny felt the same when she thought about it. But she was sleeping. Happily too.

Nicky went out to look for De. Kiki wanted to stay, she wouldn't be much help. She had almost nothing to do with this problem. Nicky could do it by herself. She didn't need a lot of help. Not now that De had gotten a hold of herself. She walked to the zoo wall closest to the pond, and saw something very odd. There was a strange figure on the wall. It appeared to be looking out into the natural area outside of the zoo. She cautiously walked up to the wall right below the figure. She didn't make a sound.

Skipper sensed someone coming. He had a natural sixth sense now. It became something that he felt even when he was in his deepest thoughts. Whoever it was, they managed to pull him away from his thoughts to pinpoint what they were doing. Whoever it was, they were doing a bad job of sneaking up on him. He could hear the slight bang as they put their foot down. No one else could probably hear it. Johnson had trained his eyesight and hearing to see the smallest things and hear the quietest noises. But he let the person sneak up to the ground directly under where he was sitting.

"I know you're there." He said flatly.

Nicky froze. She knew who it was instantly. She recognized the voice. It was Skippers. But why was he watching th the outside of the zoo from there? Than Nicky thought about De. He was spying on Destiny. Who the hell did he think he was?

Nicky jumped up to the top of the wall and stared at Skipper. He was looking out at the pond with a blank expression. She followed his stare to A body laying on the ground. It was De. There were two things that could've happened. De sang herself to sleep again, or Skipper had done something and was waiting for her to cringe and scream in pain.

"Did you do something to her?" Nicky asked hatefully.

Skipper stared up at her. She was standing and he was sitting. He got up and looked at her. She was about the same height as Rico. He narrowed his eyes, in confusion, and shrugged, "Why would I do that?" He asked curious. He had no reason to hurt her. She did nothing to disrupt the zoo. Yet.

Nicky thought for a moment. "I don't know." She replied.

Skipper turned back to the pond. Looked at the way the moonlight made the pond water sparkle like a million diamonds. "I didn't do anything to her. But it's getting cold. You might want to go get her." Skipper said blankly.

But Nicky heard the same tint of concern that Destiny's voice always held when she gave advice to strangers. Maybe Skipper wasn't as big of a threat that they thought. He was right about one thing. It was getting cold. Nick was used to the warm weather of southern Florida. She went and picked up Destiny. She dragger her to the wall and threw her over. Wincing when she hear De hit the ground. Then she jumped over herself and brought De back to the habitat. Everyone was sleeping. Everyone but Skipper. _Does he ever sleep? _ Nicky wondered. She looked through the periscope and saw a figure on the clock tower. That had to be him. De would be up there soon. She liked being the look out.


	11. New experience

Skipper looked out at the city. Maybe his shell was weakening. He highly doubted it. But you never know. He stayed up on the clock tower until Alice's car came. Then he went back to the HQ.

Everyone was still sleeping. He sighed. No one ever woke up on time. Naturally.

He woke the guys up by pulling them out of their beds. They woke up. They weren't very light sleepers. But they weren't rock sleepers either.

"So what do we do now?" Kowalski asked, sleepy, and a little annoyed. He was having a good dream.

"We go up and entertain until the four sleeping beauties wake up." Skipper replied, tired. He hadn't slept in six days. He was too paranoid to sleep. What if the girls were just waiting for them to be off guard? Then they would strike. Skipper knew deep down, that they weren't a threat. But he couldn't stop thinking about… What if they were? He had been fooled before. It wouldn't happen again.

"Skippah? Don't you think that you should get at least some sleep?" Private asked. He was starting to get very concerned for Skipper. He hadn't slept since last week. And he needed sleep.

"Not now Private." Skipper replied, blankly. He was tired though.

Then he went up the ladder and out. He didn't want to deal with Private. Not at the time being. Truthfully, he did need to sleep. He was getting paranoid. More so every minute he went without sleep. But he knew that Private was concerned. He always was. He also knew. Private knew when Skipper didn't get sleep. And if he went more than three days without at least three hours, Private said something. It had been almost a week. He would sleep tonight. No questions asked. He would do it for Private. His spirit shouldn't be wrecked by Skippers lack of sleep.

The boys were up the ladder moments after Skipper. They did some stretches, some exercises, he corrected them when needed. Nothing new. They needed to perfect the skills that they did know before learning new ones.

Then they entertained. They had to do twice the work, because people wanted to see the new penguins. They did very well to. The guys worked without rest until eleven o'clock. Five hours straight. Then the humans went to lunch. Most of them anyway. So the boys stopped, waved goodbye. Eventually the rest went away.

The girls were still sleeping. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Longest time that Destiny had ever slept. They were all sleeping soundly. Then Destiny woke up.

She felt well rested. She hadn't been well rested in a while. It felt good. She was always tired. To a certain degree. She actually felt…happy. She wasn't usually a morning person. But looking at the clock she realized that it wasn't morning anymore. It was late. Very late. The zoo had opened five hours ago. How did she sleep so late! She couldn't believe it. She never slept late. Never.

She woke the girls and went up to where the boys were standing. The others followed.

"Morning sleeping beauties." Skipper said aggravated. They had been busting their tail feathers for five hours. _Now_ they decide to wake up? They just missed the morning rush by a few minutes. A few bloody minutes! Sleeping beauties were what the deserved to be called. "Have a nice rest?"

"Sleeping beauties?" Destiny shot back. She wasn't a sleeping beauty.

"Of course De. We're gorgeous. Absolutely, drop dead." Nicky joked. She knew that De was too tired to think of how to make that backfire. She thought that she did a good job. Plus, it made a grin crawl across Destiny's face. That was a good thing.

"You know it." Kiki chimed in. it was going well. An insult was turned into a complement. They didn't like being called sleeping beauties, because they never slept late. Once in a while. Only once in a while.

Skipper rolled his eyes. He didn't need to argue about something so…unimportant. Unless he was in a good mood. He wasn't though. So the conversation so far annoyed him. Made worse by the fact that he started it. "That's not what I meant." Skipper said annoyed. "You know what I meant."

"Of course Skipper." Destiny, faking heart. Sympathy. She was trying to aggravate him. To see what happens. And to see how he controlled himself. If he did.

Skipper took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to lose his temper. He tried not to. At all times. "Well, while you were of in dream land, we were working our tails off up here." Skipper explained, annoyed. But he was going to end the conversation before he got angry.

Destiny understood that. The boys had explained why they entertain the humans. If they didn't, then they would be sent to a reserve. Or back to Antarctica. And they liked it here in the zoo. They could get out when they needed to. The guards weren't the best. Security wasn't the best. There were no security tapes. They could do anything they wanted. And never get caught. Well…if they were careful. "Aw. Poor you. Did you pull a muscle?" Destiny mocked.

"No." Skipper said casually. He figured it out. She was trying to piss him off. To get him angry. Make him lose his temper. But it wasn't going to happen. "We had to work double to entertain people who wanted to see _**eight**_penguins. Not the four usual ones.Period. It would've been nice if you girls didn't wake up at noon."

"So you are complaining." Destiny stated. He was. It sounded that way anyway. He couldn't take a little bit of exercise? Big baby.

"You don't get the point." Skipper growled. He wasn't complaining. He really didn't care. They had to do their part. Everyone had a responsibility. Entertainment was one. "Everyone here has a job. Something they do without anyone asking. Everyone has to entertain the people who come to the zoo. I already told you what happens when they don't. I'm not complaining, Destiny. I'm telling you that we don't need you to sleep all day. We have enough things to do without concerning ourselves with what you four have to do." Skipper didn't complain. It wasn't something that he did.

"Oh so we have to deprive ourselves of sleep? For… some people that we don't know?" Destiny asked, confused, and aggravated. Why did she have to put on an act for humans? Who didn't really care about her? And she was actually surprised that he explained it so well. She was still confused. Just a little.

Skipper took another deep breath. She just didn't get it.

Kowalski didn't understand how hard it was to wake up earlier than six. It wasn't very hard to understand. And Destiny was starting to get on Skipper nerves. Kowalski thought Skipper was doing a very good job controlling himself. For being tired, and instigated. So he chimed in.

"Well, yes. And no. Yes you have to perform for people who you don't know. And possibly don't really care about you. But you don't have to deprive yourself of sleep. The choice is yours weather or not you get sleep. If you stay here long enough you will see that four or five hours of sleep is really enough. Usually."

"Unless you don't sleep for six days." Private said sarcastically. He stared at Skipper.

Skipper caught his stare. And looked towards Private. "I told you Private, I will sleep." Skipper replied. He looked straight. Breaking eye contact with Private. "Eventually." He knew that Private would have a hissy fit tomorrow if he didn't sleep. But he was going to sleep tonight. Nothing to worry about.

"But you have to sleep at least twice a week. You haven't slept once this week!" Private argued. If Skipper didn't sleep than Private was going to make him. Somehow.

"Private." Skipper growled. But he caught himself. He had become very good at catching himself. Controlling his temper. "Not now." He finished. Aggravated. But not yelling.

Destiny was confused. Skipper hadn't slept in six days? He didn't seem to be sleep deprived. Well he was slightly more aggravated. But he still had control. Temper wise. He didn't lash out. At her, or at Private. She would've lost it. But even so. She didn't trust him. Who knows why he didn't sleep. Maybe he was planning. Maybe he was just wearing a mask. Like Mark. She glared at skipper. Looked him up and down. Who was he? Was he really wearing a mask? How could he control himself when he went so many days without sleep? But most importantly, was he really a penguin? He seemed to be. But then again, he might just have an excellent disguise. His feathers were all smoothed. Lying perfectly on his body. Not one was sticking up anywhere. The way he could hold emotions under his skin. If he had any. How he could look so calm. Or focused. All the time. His eyes. They were almost too perfect. Safire blue eyes. Hard as ice, yet very deep. They glistened too. She noticed. At night, they glisten. Sparkled. It was probably the moonlight. But then again. Maybe it was something else. And it was only when he looked at her. It was both creepy, and something else. But Destiny couldn't put her flipper on it. She knew one thing for sure though. These boys hadn't earned her trust yet.

Skipper saw Destiny glare at him. He had never met anyone like Destiny. She was different. But he didn't know what it was about her. She just seemed-in a way- better than the girls that he had net before. He felt an unsettling trust towards her. Not a full trust. But a feeling that she didn't work for anyone. It was strange. He hadn't felt that way since… well Marlene of course. But before Marlene. The only girls he trusted where the ones that were friends of Manfredi or Johnson. He could actually say that he missed the feeling of trust. He was always so paranoid. But he was too tired at the moment to be happy, or relieved. Or any other good feeling. He could be calm. But that was is.

Private knew he had picked the wrong time. But now Skipper knew. That was all that mattered. At the moment.

"So we have to entertain the humans all day?" Kiki asked. That didn't seem like fun. She didn't like Destiny's workouts as it was. Now she had to do tricks for humans? It didn't seem right.

"Not all day." Kowalski explained. He didn't like going through the ropes with newcomers. No one really did. But someone had to. "Humans come from six am, to eleven for the morning. We call it the morning rush. Then they come back around one, and stay till closing. But we usually need to work harder in the morning."

"Why?" Kiki asked, confused. She didn't understand why people were different and more demanding in the morning than in the afternoon.

"Well because people in the morning are still tired, and have little patience. So you have to keep them entertained. If not then they will complain and then things will happed."

Skipper let Kowalski explain. He was doing a good job so far. And he had little patience for this right now. He would help Kowalski if needed. But Kowalski didn't seem to need help. He was hitting the nail on the head. Straight and to the point. Skipper was impressed that he wasn't going on, and on about it. Then again, Kowalski has been doing well with getting to the point of things.

"What things?" Cassy asked. She was a little nervous. When Destiny said 'things' it was never good.

"Things, meaning caged for a few days, not being fed for a while. Things like that." Skipper explained calmly. He picked up the fear in Cassy's voice. Private did the same thing sometimes. She just needed a calm explanation. And the explanation to be not about bad things. Or terrible things.

"Oh." Cassy said with relief. She didn't want bad things to happen if she didn't perform. That was a little scary.

"Well if people complain then the animals will be watch for the rest of the day into the next day. To see if they aren't doing great, or doing terrible. If they aren't doing good then the 'things' happens." Kowalski went on. "Going back to the schedule. School trips come Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Private schools can also come on Saturdays. And there is one doctors checkup on all animals ones every two years. Usually.. And… the d-d-dentist every y-year." Kowalski shuddered. He didn't like the dentists. Not one bit.

Kiki looked at Kowalski confused. Why was he afraid of the dentists? Dentists were usually good people. They helped animals. Not hurt them. He seemed to be afraid of them. He stuttered when he said the word. "Are you afraid of the dentists Kowalski?" She asked.

"N-no. what makes you think that?" Kowalski asked trying to hide his nerves. The dentists did scare him. And there was a good reason why.

"Well for one, you have a slight stutter. And two you shuddered when you said dentists." She said. "I'm not stupid. I can put two and two together." She answered matter-of-factly. She wanted to know. It wasn't a crime. She was trying to push him into telling her what was wrong. She looked at Kowalski with raised eyebrows, as if to say 'well? Answer the question.'

"Well, you…you did the math wrong." Kowalski replied defensively. She didn't need to know. Yet. And even when she didn't need to know. He wouldn't tell without a fight.

Skipper didn't need to get involved. Kowalski didn't even tell them why he was afraid of the dentists. Why would he tell her?

Destiny was also curious as to why Kowalski was not a fan of dentists. As was everyone else.

Kiki sighed. "You are afraid of something." Kiki said, "You don't have to say what. But know that we know you have a fear. And I will find out what it is." Kiki spoke calmly. She didn't want to sound evil. She did want him to know that he would have to speak up some time.

Kowalski knew she didn't mean it, but Kiki sounded evil. The calmness made it worse. But she was right. Kiki would eventually find out. He had to spill sometime.

Private opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted.

"MAMA LOOK! The pengins arwe out. Look! Awen't dey coot! A little girl shouted.

"Yes honey they're adorable." The mother laughed.

"Adorable?" Nicky said shocked.

Kiki smiled. "I like the New Yorkers." She smiled. "They're much nicer than the people in Florida." The People in Florida never called them cute. Never.

Cassy laughed. "I like them too. They're much nicer."

"Cute?" Nicky said still shocked. She was never called cute. Not once. Adorable was a shock too. She just stared at the child. Completely shocked.

Kowalski and Private smiled. The girls seemed to like New York. So far.

Skipper was happy to see that the girls liked the humans. Now maybe performing wouldn't be such a big deal. Then he was worried. They were happy now. But what whould they think when something bad happened. When one of his enemies attacked.

Rico was thinking the same thing.

They both just knew. It would be when they finally gained the girls trust. Then someone would attack and crumble the trust back down to zero. Just like now.

Skipper sighed. He hated when things like that happened. It had happened with Private. It could happen again.

"LOOK MAMA!" NAother girl shouted. More and more people gathered around. They loved the girls.

That forced a smile to Skippers face. The same thing happened to the guys when they first arrived.

"You guys are still my favorite." A little boy said from behind them.

Skipper spun around. The guys were standing at one end of the concrete ice island. The girls were it the middle. They were all smiling. Skipper guessed that they didn't get much attention in Floeida.

He had to smile at the kid. He looked happy. But Skipper didn't see any parent behind him. He was the only one there.

Skipper cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head. Where was the kids parents?

"What wrong penguin?" He asked calmly.

Skipper tried to look behind the kid, to show that he was looking for someone. The boy understood.

"Oh, I don't have any parents penguin." He said solemnly.

Skipper looked at the Kid sympathetically. Humans didn't understand animals.

"It's ok penguin. I live in a nice orphanage. They treat everyone kindly. Like the daycares that my Mama sent me to when she was alive." The boy explained. "So don't worry. My teacher is around here somewhere."" He smiled at Skipper.

Skipper gave a slight smile back. That was good. The one thing that Skipper hated was children without any one to take care of them. Animal children too. It wasn't right. Some one should help them.

"You know penguin. There is no need to feel jealous. If you are I mean. Because soon, everyone will pay attention to all of you equally. So there is no need to worry about being forgotten. And remember I still like you best." The kid explain seriously.

Skipper liked the kid. He was nice. And he was the only one that paid attention to the guys since the girls came up. He smiled at the kid. He was going to be successful. All who are kind will eventually be.

A woman with brown hair tied up in a bun walked over an kneeled down to the boy. "Michael, I told you to stay with the group. Or at least tell me that you will be at the penguin habitat." The lady said. She sounded worried.

_Hmm. Maybe he was right. It is a nice orphanage._ Skipper thought.

"Sorry Mrs. Nancy. I just really wanted to see the penguins. It's been so long." Michael replied.

"Ok, just tell me next time." She stood up and grabbed his hand. "Let's go now."

She didn't pull him along. Michael was able to walk normally.

"Bye penguin." He said. Then he walked away with Mrs. Nancy.

"He was nice." Private stated.

Skipper jumped. He didn't know Private was there. He thought that the guys had gone to the middle with the girls. He turned around and faced Private. He was right. Kowalski and Rico were in the middle. The six of them were waving. He looked at private.

"He was." Skipper agreed.

"It's good to know that someone still likes us." Private smiled. He liked the idea that as everyone ooed and aahhed at the girls, some one still paid attention to them. The guys.

"It is good to know. He seems different." Skipper said. It was good to know that they would always be liked by someone. But the Kid, Michael, seemed different. He looked young. But seemed very smart. Skipper shrugged it away. It wasn't something that he needed to worry about.

"He did seem a little different from the usual child." Private agreed. Michael did seem smart. For a kid. Not like Kowalski. But wise. Sort of.

"I'll sleep tonight, Private." Skipper stated, staring at the six penguins in the middle if the habitat. He grinned.

"Private smiled. He was glad. Skipper needed to sleep. "That's good." He said. Calm, but happy. He didn't let his full happiness show. He tried to keep sound happy but still serious about Skipper getting sleep.

Skipper knew what Private was doing. It needed work. "I guess. Sleep is needed. For a lot of things." Skipper said. There was a hint of happy in his voice. He couldn't help being slightly happier when Private got happy. Private seemed to radiate the feeling. It was almost copntageous.

"I think so." Private replied. Still hiding full happiness.

"I know it." Skipper said. "Sleep maks you see things clearer. And hear better. Balance, all that stuff. It's at its peak right after a good nights sleep."

"And gives you better patience, and tolerance." Private added.

"Should we join them?" Skipper asked. They were just standing there. The other guys were all in the middle smiling and happy. Skipper guessed that Private wanted to be there too. He was a good sport. Most of the time. He had a good heart.

"Ok." Private replied happily.

They started walking towards the middle. Then two cages were dropped on them. They both jumped in surprise. They really didn't expect to see cages today. They didn't know why they needed to be in cages.

"Skippah! What did we do?" Private asked panicked. They didn't do anything wrong. That Private knew of. At least not today. The cages came out of the blue. There seemed to be no reason behind them.

"I don't know Private. There's no reason for cages." Skipper replied. He was confused. They didn't do anything all week really. What were the cages for?

They both looked up at the same time. Alice was carrying them. She looked normal. Nothing unusual.

They were brought to the main office of the zoo. Not the vet sector, or the infirmary. The office.

This confused them both more.

"Skippah?" Private started.

"I know. The office is new." Skipper said.

"WE never get taken here."

They were in separate cages. The cages were placed right next to each other. On Alice's desk.

The doctor came in.

"Hmm. They look fine. So what was the concern."

"There was a visitor that said they were standing apart from the others. It was unusual."

"Hmm. They look fine. Send them back."

So the went back. Once in the habitat, Skipper and Private exchanged confused looks. Then went to join the others in the smile and wave activity.

That was very strange. And confusing.

But they both shrugged it away. Things lie that happened every once in a while. So it wasn't new.

By the time the zoo closed the only ones out were the girls and Kowalski and Rico. Private and Skipper went inside. They got tired of doing nothing. They played checkers. Private didn't understand chess enough to play, and they were getting board.

They played two games then put it away. Then they watched T.V. this was difficult because they were very different. Skippper like horror or scary suspence movies, where Private liked happy shows.

They ended up watching shows like, 007, violent, yet not so violent. More towards the violent side. Not gory. It had guns and occasional blood. But not too much gore.

They talked too. Not a lot but they did talk.

"Do you think we can trust them Skippah?" Private asked. He thought that they could trust the girls.

"I'm not sure yet Private." Skipper replied. "I think they will be. But I'm not sure."

"Oh." Private didn't know how to answer that.

Then everyone came down.

Skipper shut the T.V. off. He and Private got up and looked at the six.

"Are all of the human here like that." Destiny asked, hopeful. She really did hope so. She didn't show it often, but she did like when people paid attention to the girls like that.

Skipper smiled slightly. "Most days." It was true. The humans loved new animals. They also like when the animals perform.

"Cool." Nicky replied. "That's awesome. No one has ever liked us that much.

"People like new animals." Private said. "And you heard them, they think you guys are cute."

Cassy blushed. No one has ever called her cute before. She knew Private wasn't. it was the tenth time she blushed today.

"These humans are nice. Very kind." Kiki said. She was happy about that. She knew there were happy humans out there. She just never saw them before.

"Well they'll be back tomorrow." Skipper stated.

"That's Good." Nicky replied.

Then they al went and did their own things. Kiki listened to music, Kowalski worked on an invention, Destiny played poker with Nicky and Cassy, Rico went to sleep, and Skipper and Private went back to watching T.V. they watched a 007 marathon that ended at eleven. Then they all went to bed. Except Private. He took watch.


	12. Careful conversation

_**Sorry for the last chapter. Didn't know where I was going. Might've been a bit confusing. I apologize. CX**_

_**I realize that I have gone completely off course.**_

_**I am going to try to pull myself out of the ditch now. So this chapt. won't be the best.**_

_**But I will try to be clearer with this one.**_

_**P.S. Who **_**Mark**_** is will be explained in coming chapters. But you'll see why The girls feel the way they do about him. **_

The next day was a new day. Everything went like a normal day would. It was a little different with the girls around. It was like that until December tenth.

"We need to scout the drains." Destiny explained.

She wanted to have a better picture of their surroundings. She was arguing with the boys. And the girls.

"But DE. Isn't that dangerous?" Cassy asked fearfully. She didn't like drains, sewers, caves. They freaked her out.

"Yeah De, we could die down there." Nicky added.

"You don't know the sewers." Skipper said.

"And you do?" Destiny asked skeptically.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do" Skipper replied.

"Then take us on a tour" Destiny said. Annoyed. _Skipper knew everything. Yeah. Jerk._ She thought.

"Fine. We'll give you a tour of the sewer." Skipper sighed, irritated. He didn't like the idea of taking them on yet another tour. They were starting to annoy him. Not threats though. So far. That was good.

"I don't think I'll go." Cassy said. She laughed nervously.

"Fine." Destiny grunted.

"I really don't think I'll be useful down there Skippah. Can I stay here too?" Private asked. He really didn't like the sewers. He was ok in them. He wasn't afraid of them. He just didn't like them.

"Don't mingle." Skipper ordered. He didn't think it was a good idea. But he had other things to worry about.

Then the six of them left. (Destiny, Nicky, Kiki, Kowalski, Rico, Skipper.)

"I don't get why she needs to look at the sewers." Cassy stated. She didn't sound scared anymore. A little annoyed was all.

Private stared at her. She was beautiful. She was short, around his height. She had been very friendly so far. The tour with her was very nice. She was very polite to all of the animals. And she had a sweet giggle. Her laugh was sweet too. But her giggle, it made you think she was the daughter of an angel. She wasn't a total angel. No one was. But if Private didn't know better, he would've said Cassy was an angel. She had purple eyes that shined in the light. She looked happy. Even when she wasn't she still looked like she could be happy. She was beautiful. Just beautiful.

Cassy looked at Private. He was staring at her. She blushed. A boy never stared at her like that before. He was looking at her with baby blue eyes. They were kind and happy eyes. And they were warm. They made her feel like she was really welcome here. He was smiling too. That just added to his welcoming look. He was friendly. She knew that from the tour. He had been very kind to them when he explained things. And smiled while he did it. And she had to admit, he was cute. He was short. Like her. But hadn't made fun of her. She knew that she was shorter than him. She felt it. At least he didn't make her feel bad like the guys back in Florida did. They called her pipsqueak, shortstop, and puny. They pushed her around. They weren't very nice to her. But this, Private fellow. He had been nice to her, to them, from day one. He treated them like guests. That was good. That was more than she expected. Much better than what she had expected.

She smiled back at him. He was nice, cute, and gorgeous. She liked him.

Private realized that he was staring. All of a sudden he felt very embarrassed. She probably thought he was a freak now. She would hate him now. She was nice, pretty, and seemed to have an interesting personality. Now he may never know it.

She saw him look away. His happy welcoming expression flashed into a worried one.

"Are you ok?" She asked concerned. She knew that De wouldn't approve. But she had to talk to him.

Private looked up. She wasn't freaked at all. She was very kind. He smiled. "I think so." He replied.

She giggled. Then covered her beak. She tried not to do that a lot. She was embarrassed by it. Her cheeks turned rosy red.

Private smiled. "It's ok. You can giggle. It's not a bad thing." He reassured. Then he giggled himself to prove it.

It was a nice friendly giggle. And awfully cute. Cassy had to giggle again. Private was so kind. So innocent. Like she was. They were alike in many ways. "I guess it's ok."

"So, what do you do for fun?" Cassy asked a little board.

"Oh um.." Private didn't expect her to ask that. He really didn't know. He watched T.V. a lot. When he was alone. He played checkers, or candy land. He sometimes played card games. But he really didn't know what to say. He thought all of those things would make him deem boring. But he had to tell her something.

"Well, I um, sometimes play checkers, or play card games, or sometimes watch T.V." He said shyly. He really wanted her to like him.

She thought for a moment. Why was he so shy? She liked those things too. She smiled at him. "I like that stuff too." She said happily. She wanted to get to know him. Maybe they would like each other. She hoped so. She was always so afraid, because of Destiny's boyfriends. She was always trying to see if boys could be relied on. They always lied to her. Cassy just didn't want a Mark.

Private was surprised. He thought that she would like more active things. Like walking or climbing. Something like that. But he was happy that she liked checkers and cards, and T.V. Now they could do stuff together. Now he could get to know her better.

He did feel bad about disobeying Skipper. But he was just being paranoid. What could Cassy and him possibly do? What could she possibly do to him? He came up blank. So he would get to know Cassy. And he would enjoy it.

He placed Skipper in the back of hid]s mind, and concentrated on Cassy.

Destiny wouldn't want her to do this. And if she found out, there would be trouble for both of them. They had to be careful. But she didn't think Destiny had a reason to worry. Private didn't seem like the type to harm people. He was nice and friendly.

But even though Destiny didn't say anything, Cassy knew that De expected her to stay away from private. So she felt bad for not doing so. But De's expectations would have to wait. She had a nice, cute bay that she had to know better.

"So, what do you want to do?" Private asked. He felt a little awkward just standing there, doing nothing.

She didn't know. It had to be something that they could talk while doing. "Hmmm. How about checkers?" She suggested. You could play that and do _two_ other things at the same time. It was a simple easy game. And it didn't need a lot of concentration.

"Sounds good." Private agreed happily. Checkers was good. It didn't need much focus. So he could talk to her and play at the same time.

Hopefully, no one would come back before the two were done talking.

They set up the board and pieces on the table in the middle of the room. Then, they started to play.

After a few minutes Cassy couldn't' take it anymore. More and more questions had popped inter her head ever second. She had to know the answers. Her mind was killing her. So she decided to break the silence. "Um….. So." She swallowed. She didn't want to seem like a freak. She couldn't just start asking questions. Then it would seem like an interrogation. She didn't want that. No she wanted Private to like her. So she had to start smoothly. How she was going to do that was the hard part.

She looked at Private. He wasn't staring. He was looking at her curiously. She couldn't get over how, kind he was. He hadn't laughed at her when she drew up blank. In fact he started the conversation.

After Cassy tried to start a conversation, Private noticed that her cheeks turned red again. He knew why. It was embarrassing to want to say something, start, and then come up with nothing you say. He had been doing that a lot lately. He thought it would be best if he started the conversation. He had to think of what to say for a minute. But after he got his thoughts organized, he knew exactly what to say.

"So, why do you like playing checkers?" He asked. He did his best to sound curious. And for the most part it worked. He had a good feeling that she wouldn't feel so embarrassed now. Once a conversation started, it was easy to stray from the main point.

Cassy was relieved that Private started the talking. She wasn't very good at starting. She never was. Now she knew for sure. She knew before, but now there was no doubt in her mind. Private was her prince charming. She felt silly for feeling so afraid of Private being a Mark. He was her perfect match. She could feel it.

She almost forgot he asked a question. "Oh, um..." She had to think for a minute just to remember the question. She knew the answer right away, when she figured out what was asked. "Oh, um. I guess because it's simple. I like simple games. They seem to be more fun." She said casually.

Private didn't like games that needed a lot of thought process. He liked the simple games. Like she did. "I like simple games. They're easier. And easy games _are_ fun to play." Private agreed.

"So…" Cassy said. She really didn't know where to go next. They could play twenty questions. But would Private really want to do that? She thought that she might as well just put that out there. He had proven to be different so far. He was nice, so he wouldn't rudely object the idea. "Um would…would you like to play twenty…um…twenty questions?" She asked, nervously. She squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head downwards, afraid to watch his reaction.

Private was a little shocked at first. The question came out of the blue. It seemed so out of place. He was confused for a moment. Why would she do that? Just blurt something out like that?

Private glanced over at Cassy. She had he eyes closed tightly like she was anticipating a hit. Private still didn't understand why she was so afraid. Or what she was so afraid of. But he didn't like when people were sad, of frightened. It mad him sad, and angry, sometimes. He had to cheer Cassy up.

"What's the matter Cassy?" Private asked sympathetically. He didn't want her to be afraid around him. It almost made him laugh. He wasn't someone to fear. He couldn't harm her if he tried.

She looked up at him and only saw kindness in his eyes. She didn't know how to tell him. She didn't want to ruin things for him. He didn't want him to hate her. But she couldn't say that. It would sound like she was rushing things. And she wasn't in any position to do that. But she still had to answer him.

Private didn't see fear really. Cassy just looked very nervous. He did too, but Cassy looked worse. She was afraid of something. He only hoped that it wasn't him.

Cassy, wanted to tell him. She felt herself falling for him. She was falling in love with a boy that she hardly knew. Was that even possible? She didn't know. Nor did she care. If this game worked out the way she hoped it would… Than she would know Private enough to tell him that she loved him. But now she had to gather her courage and get things back on track. She was getting to know Private today. And that was final. She would know him by the end of the day. Or whenever everyone came back. But she would know Private. That she knew.

"I'm fine. Just a bad memory. Don't worry. I'm almost over it." She said calmly. It wasn't very far from the truth. She had been harassed by a boy shortly before she left. He had pushed her down. The usual. But then he decided to take it a step farther. He attacked her. And if it hadn't been for Destiny's training than she would've never put run him. That was scary, and still fresh in her mind.

Private took a good look at Cassy. She was hiding something. He didn't know what. But he wanted to find out. Twenty questions was a good suggestion now.

"So are we going to play?" He asked.

"Play what?" Cassy asked confused. She had completely forgotten about the bame.

"Twenty questions right" Private replied. He didn't know if he had heard her right before.

Cassy remembered right away. She felt embarrassed too. "Oh, yeah. Let's play." She said trying to piece together her thoughts. She had let them wonder for a second. What if de came back and saw them like this? Then she got an idea. "Um Private? Do you think we should make it look like we're doing other things? You know, just in case they return?" She asked nervously. She was afraid of what would happen if they returned and she and Private were sitting close together talking.

She remembered what Skipper said _"Don't mingle"_. If he came back and saw Private with her. She didn't want to think about it.

Private knew what she meant right away. If they were caught together, they were dead. It was simple. A deadly simple. She had a good idea. If they looked like they were doing other things, than when everyone came back they could snap into focus (pretended focus) and make it look like they never talked once. Is that what she was hiding? It couldn't be. No that wasn't it. He was eager to start the game. He really did want to get to know Cassy better. She seemed, perfect. For him, that is. She was nice, cute, and pretty. But she liked having fun the same way that he did. They thought about similar things. Well not her memories . or his. But other than that. She felt like his perfect match.

There was only one way to find out.

"That's a good idea. I wouldn't want Skipper to see me going against his order. He doesn't like that." Private agreed. There was a hint of fear in his voice. Just a hint. He didn't like when Sipper got mad at him. Private was afraid of Skipper when he got mad. It never really showed. But he was afraid.

They settled in different corners of the room.

Cassy picked up a picture book, and Private fiddled with a stuffed animal.

"So do you want to start?" Cassy asked, she was excited to get started.

"Ok." Private replied happily.

They both were happy to get the chance to get to know each other.


	13. happiness and exposure

Private was going first. But he didn't know what to ask. He wasn't really sure how to play twenty questions. But he decided to start off with something simple.

"Hmm. What is your favorite color?" He asked.

"Mine? Ummm…. Purple." Cassy replied confidently. "Yours?"

"Mine's blue." Private replied. That was a good start. Hopefully it would work it's to more personal questions.

Cassy hoped so too. She wanted to know special things about him.

"So what's your favorite…. Activity?" Cassy asked curiously. She knew his favorite game, that didn't mean it was his favorite activity.

"Ummm. I guess the fighting, travel thing." Private didn't know how to say it. He liked fighting. Not the part where he had to hurt people. How it felt to know how to do something. To not be afraid of getting beaten up so much. And he liked seeing knew things. Every time they got kidnapped, captured, or stolen, they were somewhere different. They've been in about ten of Blowholes secret labs. All ten were in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

"Really?" Cassy asked confused. He didn't seem to be the fighting type. Well she knew that he could fight. But not that he liked it. "Why?"

"Well um." Private didn't know how to answer that. The truth seemed to be the only way. It was the only way. Private sighed. "I guess I just like knowing that I can protect myself. Somewhat at least. And I like seeing knew things." Private replied nervously.

Cassy stared at him. "I like the protection part too…" She hesitated. She was embarrassed to say so… but she had never left Florida. All there was to see were swamps, marshes, gators, and sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine. "I haven't traveled enough to like it though." She finished shyly.

Private still hated to see her upset. She didn't look good upset. No one did. But something about her made his heart crack when she looked sad. And he only saw her sad twice. "That's ok. You guys probably don't have a lot of enemies." Private said reassuringly, "That's a good thing. I only like travel because I've traveled a lot on rescue missions, escapes, and other objectives."

Cassy looked up at him. He was nice. She had told herself that many times before. "Yeah I guess." She sighed. "But I always wished I went somewhere else. I always wanted to see things. I want to be in a forest. I want to look out from the top of the mountain and see the sun setting behind the forest below. I want to swim in the sea. The real sea. I've never been to the outer edge of Florida. I just want to _see_ things." She had never been anywhere. She had seen places in movies. But she needed to see them for herself. To experience it.

"Well you will some day." Private replied calmly. "And with you guys here with us, that day should be coming. Sooner than you'd think too." Private smiled. She seemed very self conscience at the moment. Hopefully that would change.

"Oh I hope so." Cassy replied seriously. "But I guess I can worry about that later." She laughed nervously. She knew she was acting like a nervous wreck right now…or close to it. But she couldn't help it. She was nervous. She wanted him to like her, to not be freaked out by her.

"Maybe you can ask um… Destiny about that." Private suggested. He thought that Destiny was a lot like skipper. She did things like him. She was just more angered and annoyed.

Cassy sighed. She didn't like how this turned out. She had to reverse it somehow. "Um Private?" She asked, still thinking if she should say this or not. "Um, what is your favorite place to be?" She asked, curiously, and softly. He had been so many places. She didn't know that for sure. But he sure made it seem that way.

Private understood the sudden change in topic. Cassy didn't want to talk about not being able to go places. Or maybe it was the mentioning of Destiny. Then it would be his fault. But he had no time to think about that. "Um…I guess woods. They seem calm." He said.

"Hmm. That makes sense." Cassy said. She liked forests. She had been in a few in Florida. They were a good size.

Then there was silence.

Down in the sewers….

Skipper was leading Destiny and the others to meet the rat king. He and the rat king made a truce after they won back their habitat and forced the rats back down into the sewers. So he wouldn't attack them.

"Skipper where are we going?" Destiny asked annoyed. They had been walking for at least an hour. He hadn't said anything since they past Roger. He seemed pissed. And there was no good reason for him to be.

Skipper stopped. He was tired of her. She had to see everything. And there was no stopping her. Ever since they started the tour of the sewers under the city, she had been on him. Asking him useless questions and asking him what he was doing. She acted like a middle school brat. Maybe that was just him. Maybe not. He turned around and started at her. He was tired. He had been letting his paranoia get to him. And it was wearing his patience down. "Look, I know you can't help yourself. But I think you can hold the questions until we get to where we're going." He said. He wasn't happy.

And he didn't sound happy either.

"I'm just asking where we're going." Destiny replied. He could at least tell them where they were going. And it wasn't to a king.

"I told you." Skipper said losing his patience, "We are going to see the only person in these sewers you haven't met yet."

"There is no rat king." Destiny snapped. There was no such thing as a rat king. Rats didn't have kings. They weren't smart enough.

"You don't believe me? Then you can finish looked through here on your own!" Skipper growled.

Kowalski didn't think that it was a good thing to leave the girls here alone. He didn't want Kiki to get hurt. He didn't want any of them to get hurt. But mostly Kiki. They didn't know their way around. They would get lost for sure. He thought that Destiny just needed to calm down.

Rico thought that they should leave. But he didn't want to leave Nicky here. She had weapons of course. But Rico still felt that she would get hurt. And he didn't want that. Besides, if they left the girls here they would get lost. That wasn't good.

Nicky and Kiki felt nervous about being left here, the only reason they agreed to go was because they were being showed the way. In other words they wouldn't get lost.

Kiki was afraid of being lost. She liked to know where she was and where she was going. She was just uncomfortable being lost.

Nicky didn't want to run into trouble. She had left the heat ray at the habitat. And all her weapons were cubified. She only had her hand to work with. And she wasn't very good with that kind of fighting. She wondered if Rico had the same problem.

Destiny really couldn't take anymore of _Skipper_. She was done with him. They could navigate the sewers alone. They didn't need him. Them. They didn't need the boys. "We don't need you." She stated, glaring.

Kiki, Nicky, Kowalski, and Rico all felt the same wave of fear.

Kiki of getting lost, Nicky of running into trouble, and Kowalski and Rico wanted the girls to return.

"Rico." Skipper said. He was calm now. Glad to get the girls off his shoulders. Temporarily.

Rico didn't know what Skipper wanted this time. Usually he did. Usually he could tell by the situation what Skipper wanted. He coughed up a walkie-talkie. He thought that if the girls ran into trouble they could just say so. Into the walkie-talkie of course. Then the boys could come save them.

Apparently, Skipper was thinking the same thing. Or predicting it.

Skipper took the walkie-talkie and handed it to Destiny.

She looked at him like he was insane. "What do we need this for?" She asked. She didn't need that. What was she going to do, call them?

"I guarantee you'll run into someone down here. If you need any help at all, tell us." He replied flatly. The he started walking back to the zoo.

Kowalski gave an unsure smile to Kiki. She returned it.

Nicky and Rico did the same. Then they followed their leaders, walking away from each other.

Kiki and Nicky were instantly afraid of being lost and getting hurt. Destiny made a bad decision. They could feel it.

…

"So." Private started.

Cassy looked at him intently. She wanted to hear what he was going to say.

"What's your favorite movie?" He asked.

"Um… uh… Ice age I think." Cassy replied. "Yours?"

"Mine? Oh… Um. I think toy story's my favorite." Private replied. He smiled at her.

She smiled back.

They went back and fourth for an hour or so.

Private told her that he liked, snow, and watching it fall in the winter, as well as all the other seasons. He liked the way everything came back to life in the spring, and how the trees seemed to catch fire in the fall. He told her that he liked watching TV. Mostly kid shows (he was a little shy about that). He liked hot chocolate and peanut butter winkies. He told Cassy that he couldn't read, he could surf, if he got the chance, he liked nice sunny days, didn't like bugs, and can really tolerate anything if he tried to. But sometimes lost his patience anyway.

Cassy told him that, she could ride a scooter very well, like all seasons too, how the leaves changed and the way the wind blew in the summer. She said she couldn't surf, but wished she could, she could bogie board and wake surf, though. She told him that she didn't like watching shows as much as she liked watching movies on TV. She didn't like horror shows, or movies. He said that she couldn't read either, she was also a fan of peanut butter winkies but her favorite candy was milky ways'. She told him that she didn't like bugs at all, no matter what, and she liked fruit punch.

Then they went deeper.

"So when did you meet them?" Cassy asked, carefully. She didn't want to seem too eager to know his back round so quickly. She did want to know. She just didn't want to make things uncomfortable.

Private was a little uneasy about that. But he had planned to ask her the same thing. So he didn't have the right to be uncomfortable. She would feel uneasy too. "Well, I met them in the woods. I hatched in Antarctica, but something happened. I don't remember what. All I remember is their faces, and then I was in the woods. And that's where they found me." He explained.

He sounded upset to Cassy. She was afraid she had gone too far too fast. But she couldn't help herself. "Who found you?" The question came out faster than she could stop it. She felt terrible.

Private wasn't upset at all. He did wish he knew what had happened. He always knew that the faces belonged to his parents. But that was all he could remember them by. He didn't remember anything that they did together. He was confused if anything at all. He wasn't sad anymore. Manfredi once told him that he would see them again. So Private never got upset anymore. Unless he was upset to begin with. "Who? Um…everyone really. Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Manfredi, and Johnson. I don't even remember how I got in the woods. But they found me. It was Manfredi and Kowalski who let me go with them. Skipper wasn't so sure, neither was Rico. Johnson said he didn't need any more trouble makers. After a month or two they treated me like I had always been there." Private finished. He always wanted to tell that to someone. But he could never find the right place or time. Or person for that matter.

Cassy had to wrap her mind around what he said. It took her a few moments. Skipper and Rico didn't know what to think, Manfredi, whoever that was, and Kowalski wanted him to stay, and Johnson, whoever he was, didn't want Private to stay at all. But after a few months he was treated like he was always there? She would have to dig into that later. She could feel that it was her turn. "Wow. That's… Good and bad." That's what she decided to say. She really didn't know weather it was good or bad. It was kinda both. But even as she said it, she was second guessing herself. But she would have to see Private reaction to tell if her statement was wrong or right.

Private had to think for a minute. She was right. Not remembering the events that lead him to be lying in the woods was bad. But being excepted was a good thing. She was right. It was good and bad. "Yeah." He said, still thinking it over, "I guess it is."

Cassy was relieved. She didn't go too far, that was good. And she said the right words. Also good. But now it was her turn. Private just had to ask the question. She smiled at him.

Private didn't know how to ask. He wanted to know how she met the girls but he didn't want to sound rude. He just had to ask. That was the only way to do this. "So." He started "how did you meet the girls?" it was simple. And almost the exact same question that she had asked him.

She knew it was coming. But how she met them was a lot more complicated than Private's way of meeting the guys. Or maybe she just simplified it. She didn't really know how he did that. But she would try to do the same. "Well, um. I also hatched in Antarctica. But I remember everything. My parents loved me. My father was stricter than my mother, though. And it was like that for a while. Just your average, ordinary family. Then the town was raided, all the youngest kids were taken. I was one of those kids. We were put in a cell. Like the ones they put prisoners in. we were their prisoners. But they only got to a few kids before she came. I wasn't one of those kids. Her name was Calypso. She had left Kiki, Nicky, and Destiny, at their campsite. She took me there, everyone else was too afraid to go. They went with other good people. I was too confused and shocked to be afraid, I think. But Destiny was stuck like Skipper was with you. Nicky didn't want me. Calypso was going to give me a chance and Kiki wanted me to stay. After a while, I too was treated like I was always there. It felt good to be accepted." Cassy finished. That was a lot easier than she thought it would be. It felt almost, natural. She had never been able to tell that part of her life without some kind of sadness or fear. But she felt calm.

Private understood the kidnap and prisoner part. But it took him a minute to get his mind around the rest. "So you met the girls through Calypso? Like how I met the guys through Johnson?" Private said. It came out sounding moiré like a question than a statement. He was still a little confused by the whole idea. But for the most part he understood.

Cassy thought for a moment. He was right. "I guess so." Cassy replied.

Elsewhere…

"Skipper do you really think we should leave them alone? In the sewers?" Kowalski asked nervously. He was worried about Kiki. Of course Skipper didn't know that. He and Kiki would be dead if that ever happened.

They were walking the streets of New York. Cautiously so they wouldn't get caught.

Skipper was getting over his annoyance. He could do these things very fast. Anger, annoyance, sleepiness, were all things he could push away. But he was having trouble getting over his annoyance towards Destiny. And he didn't know why. It was just unusually hard for him.

"Skipper?" Kowalski asked when he didn't respond.

"No Kowalski." Skipper replied.

Kowalski could tell he was thinking. He had that tone in his voice that said '_I'm thinking but I'll talk to you anyway'_

"I don't think it was a good idea to leave them there alone. Not here in New York. She's going to get those girls in a whole lota trouble."

….sewers…..

The girls had been walking for about half an hour without the boys when they ran into trouble.

And it was the very person Destiny swore didn't exist. The Rat King.

"There is no Rat King." Destiny argued. The three of they were tied up in the rats' battle cage. They had accidentally taken a wrong turn. The cage fell on them instantly. There were too many rats than they could fight.

That is how they got to where they were now.

"How can you say that!" the rat king laughed. "I am standing right in front of you no?"

Destiny growled. She hated being tied up. And being talk to like she was an idiot. This Rat _King_ had done both.

Kiki did all she could to keep her breathing under control. If she didn't her windpipe would close. They didn't have the heat ray. Her nebulizer was in a cube. If she lost control of her breathing she was dead. And she was freaking out so that was hard to do. These rats weren't disinfected. They looked like they had never taken a bath. Filthy, disease ridden rats. She hated being a sick. She hated being so scared. And these rats scared her. She knew rats _could_ have evolved into smart creatures. And she was right. They had become smarter. But uncivilized. Rat versions of barbarians. This was the thought that scared her. This was the thought that freaked her out.

Nicky couldn't help Kiki at the moment. She was kicking at the rats that kept walking towards her. She had already kicked ten of them. She didn't like rats. They looked like tiny fluffy, pirates. She had had a terrifying experience with pirates. And she just didn't like rats. And she was getting scared herself.

"You are not a king!" Destiny growled. "You are just a laboratory rat that escaped."

"That part is true actually." The rat king said. "But I am king."

"De, just listen, to him." Nicky said as she kicked a few more rats away. "AH!" She just wanted to get out of this situation.

Kiki didn't want to talk. She was pushing herself against Destiny and Nicky to get herself as far away from the rats as possible. But they were still getting closer. Then she remembered the walkie-talkie. She still had it in her hand. She could feel it. She wiggled her arm free and screamed into it.

…..streets…..

Rico was carrying the walkie-talkie. Skipper told him to put it away at first. But Kowalski said they wouldn't be able to hear it if it was in Rico's stomach. It was a good thing they left it out.

"HELP!" a voice cried. It came out of the walkie-talkie. Kowalski recognized the voice. It was Kiki.

"Someone please!" she screamed. "Hey! Give me that"

They all recognized that voice. It was the Rat King.

"Looks like they met he nonexistent king." Skipper stated.

He looked at Rico and Kowalski. They both looked worried. The wires connected in his head. He knew what they did when they were left with the girls. He let a smug little grin appear on his face. "We know where to look now." Then he turned around and they ran towards the rat part of the sewers.

The rat king had grabbed the walkie-talkie from Kiki's flipper. The rats had jumped on her, and she screamed. She didn't like rats. She hated rats. And she didn't hate many things.

And then the boys arrived.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Skipper demanded. As much as he hated the many questions and comments that came from the girls (Mostly Destiny's were the ones that annoyed him), he had to rescue them. It was the penguin way. The penguin credo also stated that if a fellow penguin is in trouble (or any other innocent animal) he/she is to be rescued.

"They entered our turf. They're ours." The rat king argued.

"No." Kowalski said. "They're with us."

The rat just stared at them, and then looked back at the girls. "Uhg. Fine. But next time they're mine." The rat king growled. He hated losing pray. It wasn't really pray. Prisoners more or less. But they were entertainment.

They untied the girls and let them go. No one said anything on the walk back to the zoo. Nicky and Kiki had a slight case of the willies. Destiny just didn't want to talk. Especially to Skipper.

…..Habitat….

"I guess we are more alike than we seem huh?" Cassy asked smiling. She was glad she got to know him better. She actually had fun doing it. But she was pretty sure they played twenty questions the wrong way. And asked more than twenty questions.

"I guess so." Private agreed.

They were sitting in the middle of the room just talking. Cassy still held the picture book, and Private the stuffed animal.

"But I'm sure we didn't play twenty questions the right way." Cassy laughed. She couldn't explain it. She felt happy. Really, truly happy. She loved it.

"We did." Private laughed. He too felt truly happy.

But they couldn't stop laughing. Not fast enough….

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Private and Cassy jumped, turned towards the latch door and saw Destiny standing there. She was mad. Madder than mad. She looked like she was ready to explode. Crazy mad.

Cassy felt like she w just swallowed by fear. She was going to get in now. Destiny was going to kill her. Literally. Cassy didn't know what to do. She felt like a dear in headlights. "Umm…um…uh..." She didn't know what to say. "D-d-d-d-d-d-de, I-I-I-"Cassy stuttered.

"You interacted with him!" Destiny shouted.

By this time the girls had jumped into the habitat. Cassy was never good at sneaking things.

"N-n-no D-d-de, its n-n-not wh-wha-what y-you think." Cassy replied. She was shaking uncontrollably now. And she couldn't calm her nerves.

Private saw this. He knew destiny was probably two times more dangerous than Skipper. Mostly because she lacked self control. But he wasn't going to let Cassy get hurt. He…loved her. "It was my fault." He said loudly. Most times people, who are out of control mad, can't hear anyone very well.

Destiny whipped her head towards Private. She knew it was his fault. Boys were no good heart breakers. Boys were not to be trusted. Not to be mingled with. But Cassy let him mingle with her. So she turned back towards Cassy.

The boys were now in the room and had heard Privates confession.

"PRIVATE!" Skipper shouted. how could Private go against direct orders? Private was the good one. But Skipper was tired, annoyed, and now angered. He could usually calm down. But not when those three emotions came at the same time.

He also looked mad as a bat. Miles and miles past being pissed off.

"Oh, S-s-sk-sk-skippah. I-I-" Private stammered.

"Went against direct orders!" Skipper shouted.

Now Private joined Cassy, shaking uncontrollably.

"STOP" Kiki, Kowalski, Nicky and Rico shouted at the same time.

Skipper, Destiny, Cassy, and Private looked at them

"What!" Destiny shouted. Still mad as ever.

"Well. If you guys are going to yell at them-" Nicky started.

"Then you might as well be screaming at us too." Kowalski finished

Cassy, Private, Skipper, and Destiny stared, confused.

Kiki took a deep breath. "We mingled too." She said.

Skipper and Destiny went back to being angry. Miles and miles past pissed off. Only now it was three times worse. Now they were mad at everyone.

Now only fate will be able to decide what the punishment would be.

Because all six lovers knew there would be a punishment...


	14. Scary Punishment

_**Was those better? I mean more clear than the one with the little kid? Yeah sorry about that. ^_^ **_

**(\_/)**

**(='.') **

**Here's the next chapt! **

"YOU DID WHAT?" Destiny screamed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could all three of them make the same stupid mistake? She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. They were all idiots. Boys were not to be trusted. She told them that. Many times. And they still trusted a boy.

"Look De." Nicky said calmly trying to calm Destiny down, "You were wrong."

"Yeah De." Kiki said trying to sound calm but failing. "They're not going to hurt us."

"Yes they are." Destiny growled.

"I told you not to mingle with her!' Skipper shouted at Private. "You went against direct orders!" Skipper was also having trouble wrapping his mind around the whole thing.

"Skipper-" Kowalski started.

"Don't Kowalski! You did it too! And don't worry, you'll get the same punishment!" Skipper growled.

"De you have to stop being so… wrong. So blind." Kiki pleaded.

"No. you have to start listening!" Destiny shot back. Angry. Still screaming when she spoke. Still out of control. But not fully. Not yet.

All three girls were scared. They knew Destiny couldn't control herself. But they would protect each other. Destiny wouldn't get very far if she attacked one of them.

"We can love whoever we want!" Cassy shouted. No one had noticed, she didn't even notice, she was crying. Tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to lose Private. She loved him. She didn't know him for a very long time. But that didn't mean she couldn't love him.

"What did you say?" destiny asked, still angry. She sounded very mad. She sounded like she was about to really snap.

"You can't tell us who we can and can't love." Cassy cried. She would play _Romeo and Juliet_ with private if she had to. She could love anyone she wanted. It was her choice. Her life. She only listened to Destiny most of the time because most of the time Destiny was right. Things to avoid, what not to touch, places not to go to. But love… she was wrong about love. She had failed at love because she went looking. Cassy didn't look for Privates love. She wanted it. There was a difference.

If only Destiny understood that.

Destiny charged at Cassy like a bull. Cassy had enough time to get up. But that was it.

Cassy didn't know what happened. She felt Destiny tackle her. But then couldn't see. She felt a shock of pain on her face. Then her stomach . Then an extreme pain in her arm. A few more shocks of pain on her face...Then she couldn't feel anything. She couldn't open her eyes. She couldn't move. She blacked out. Then passed out. She was unconscious.

Kiki and Nicky saw what happened. They couldn't get there fast enough. Destiny had tackled Cassy. She punched Cassy face and stomach. Then she broke Cassy's arm. And then she went back to the face. The whole time Cassy was screaming. That's when they got there and pushed her off Cassy. Cassy was already out cold though. They were too late. One of Cassy's eyes was already turning black. Nothing else was visual yet. Except her arm, which was lying in a strange position. Bent the way no arm should. It was broken. Badly broken.

"AH!" Destiny screamed in anger. She lost control. But didn't regret it. They needed to be given them punishment.

Kiki and Nicky backed away from Destiny. One of them was next.

"Skipper just calm down." Kowalski said as calmly as he could. He knew Skipper had been annoyed at destiny, tired from not sleeping, and now angry at Private. But he had to calm down. He would hurt one of them if he didn't.

"Kowalski, don't tell me what to do!" Skipper shouted. "I told all of you not to mingle with those girls! And you disobeyed me!"

"Skipper we can love if we want to!" Kowalski shouted. He could love whoever he wanted. He could love period. If he wanted to fall in love with someone it was his choice.

Apparently, Skipper didn't see it that way.

Kowalski tried to stop it. But there was a reason Skipper was the teacher.

Skipper punched Kowalski dead in the face, throwing him backwards. He hit the ladder and fell to the ground. Skipper followed him to the ladder and threw his head back against it a few times. Kowalski couldn't see straight. She saw two of Skipper. And that was terrifying. Skipper looked mad, extremely mad.

Skipper punched Kowalski face. Again and again and again, Kowalski felt the shock of pain on one of his cheeks, then the smack of the ladder on the back on his head. All the while he was struggling. Trying to get away. All the while he was failing. But he kept trying. Until he felt nothing, heard nothing, and saw nothing. Until he fell unconscious.

Two down. Four to go.

Zero down. Two to control.

Kiki was scared. Terrified. She couldn't use De's promise now. Destiny wasn't in her right mind. She wasn't thinking. She wouldn't understand. She wouldn't care. "De." Kiki said nervously. "I know you're mad. B-but you have to view this in a different way."

"Y-y-yeah de." Nicky added terrified, "Just give the guys a chance. Y-y-you never know right?" Nicky was terrified.

They both were. The only person that would hurt them was Destiny. She didn't know the boys. She only knew Skipper. And the two of them ,Destiny and Skipper, were on edge from lack of sleep. They would regret this later. Kiki and Nicky knew they would.

"I do know. I know more than you do. I warned you. And if a warning isn't enough-"

"Listen to yourself De!" Kiki cried. She didn't want to be banned from seeing Kowalski. She loved him. And she knew that he loved her. Destiny knew nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing about love. She didn't know how to fall in love. She went looking. You can't look for love. When you look, you find crappy love. Cheaters and playa's, guys who just want to…_tango_. And as sad as that was, it was the truth. That's what you found if you went looking. Love is something that has to come from nowhere. It can't be looked for. It just, happens.

But Destiny didn't get that. She didn't know the first thing about love.

Kiki had little time to think. Destiny tackled her. Kiki felt her flippers around her throat. Destiny was strangling her. It was simple. Almost painless. But scary as hell. Kiki already had breathing problems. And she knew that that was why Destiny chose to strangle her. She breathing was already week. Well when she was scared it was. And right now she was terrified. Struggling just made it worse. But Kiki let her flight or fight instinct kick in. she was already a goner. Nothing could make things worse. But she struggled. She struggled until she ran out of air. Fought until she could fight no more.

Nicky couldn't do anything. She couldn't protect Kiki from Destiny when Destiny got like this. When Kiki stopped moving destiny let go. But Nicky didn't stop shaking. She didn't stop the tears from rolling down her feathers. She didn't try to stop Destiny when it was her turn. All she could think about was them. Her sisters. Cassy and Kiki. Cassy could be dead for all she knew. And Kiki… Kiki had to be dead. She had breathing problems. Strangling _was_ death to her. Last time Kiki got strangled… her throat closed completely. If she was alone…she would be dead. And with Cassy out cold, or dead, and Nicky not being able to get Destiny away from her, Kiki might as well be alone.

Nicky was the most dangerous, strongest one of the three. But they were better off. They had a flight of fight instinct. Nicky had the fight. Not the flight. She needed the flight. Then she would've been able to do something. Kiki had proven, fear makes you stronger than anger does. And they were smarter. More observant than she was. Kiki and Cassy.

The only thing Nicky felt was the stinging behind her eyes, and the pain in her stomach. Did Destiny really go to far this time? If she did, than Nicky wanted to die too. She couldn't live without Kiki and Cassy. Without Cassy's hope and inspiration. And Kiki's funniness. Kiki, just being there made things better. Cassy did too. She loved them both the same. But De never went after Cassy. So it looked like Cassy didn't matter. And she did.

All Nicky felt was the sting behind her eyes and the pain in her stomach. She didn't know what Destiny did to her. But she eventually, was knocked out too.

Four down. Two to go

"Walski!" Rico cried. He hoped Kowalski was ok. But he didn't have much time to worry about him. Skipper was done with Kowalski. He was making a B line towards Private. Out of instinct Rico jumped in front of him, to protect him from Skipper. From the attacker.

He didn't regret anything. No, Private wasn't Rico's favorite. But he was dam close. He was right under Kowalski. _Right _under Kowalski. In other words, Private was still his brother. And once Skipper was done with him, Private would get less pain. Skipper would be worn out from punishing him and Kowalski. That was the goal anyway.

Skipper was on top of Rico before Rico had time to react. Instinctively, Rico coughed up a bomb towards Skipper, the attacker.

Skipper caught it and shoved it back down Rico's throat. Not very pleasant. He didn't punch anything. Not at first. He broke Rico's arms. Both of them. Then repeatedly slammed his fists into Rico's face until Rico was unconscious. That wasn't how Rico expected it to go. Before he went out, before everything went black, Rico found himself feeling very scared for private. He wondered if Skipper had ever heard the phrase, _**Love happens.**_

Private knew he could do nothing. If he tried he would just make things worse. But that didn't help the fact that he could've done something. Anything. Rico needed him to do something. Kowalski needed him to do something. Even Skipper needed some form of help. Skipper could calm down. He could fix things. Skipper could control himself. Private knew he could. So why wasn't he? Why was he acting like…like a monster?

Skipper did the same thing to Private. He didn't lose any strength at all punishing Rico and Kowalski. Private was tackled, punched slammed into the ground. But he also felt a sharp pain in his leg. He couldn't hear anything. But he was sure he was screaming.

The last pain he felt was in his stomach**.**

Skipper tied Kowalski, Private and Rico together and chained them to a corner of the room.

Destiny did the same with the girls and chained them to the opposite side. Broken bones and all.

But Kiki and Nicky were right.

After they calmed down….they regretted it. But many things happened first.

Calming down wasn't very easy for the two paranoid penguins….

_**Was that too much? I don't know. It might be. R&R! **___


	15. Calming down

_**Yeah sorry for the violence, but it's actually important. You'll see no worries.**_

_**Well without further a due. **_

After they tied everyone to the wall, Skipper paced around for a while. He wasn't mad that they did this. Kowalski was right, they could love whoever they wanted. But they didn't have to lie about it. They didn't have to be afraid to say something. He was more disappointed that they had kept a secret. A secret that would eventually be revealed. He was…hurt that they didn't trust him. And he let that get to him. Along with the annoyance and lack of sleep. He didn't need to get so angry.

He looked over at them. They were still tied up. Tied together too. And still unconscious.

He didn't need to hurt them like that. That's what Johnson did. Johnson was a good man. A hero. But he had no grip on his temper. That's why Skipper learned to control his. So _this_… didn't happen. This never happened. It came very close to happening. But never happened.

Skipper knew why he snapped. And was ashamed for letting himself snap. He went over and fixed Rico's arms and Privates leg. He had enough control not to severely break them. So he just had to reposition them and push the bone back together. (Manfredi showed him how) he tied a pole to Rico's arms and Privates leg. He would take them off when they awoke. That would be long enough. They wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

Destiny didn't understand. Boys were no good, heart breaking, slime balls. They just live to give girls misery. Boy can't be trusted. With anything. She learned that the hard way. Why were they pushing it? She knew what she was talking about. They were being stupid. They were going to get hurt. They were going to get their hearts broken. They didn't know how much it hurt to get your heart broken. She just didn't want them to get hurt.

She looked at them. They were tied together, tied to the wall, and hurt. They were still unconscious. She wanted to help them. But she didn't know how.

Skipper saw Destiny staring at the girls. He was still mad at her. And now he was mad at her for adding to his annoyance which didn't help him remain in control of himself. But he believed in doing the right thing. As much as he hated her right now, he needed to make sure she knew how to help the girls. Because he knew Kowalski was right. But he wasn't sure if she did.

Destiny sensed Skipper walking up to her. She spun around and stared at him. He wasn't moving anymore. But he wanted something. She knew he did.

Skipper was surprised. She had a sixth sense too. He didn't expect that. He stopped as soon as she started to turn around. She just stared at him. So he started back. He could feel it though. She wanted him to say something. Or was waiting for him to say something.

"Are you just going to leave them like that?" He asked. Skipper had a talent. It came in handy many, many times. He could easily hide his emotions. He was still calming down on the inside. But looked completely calm on the outside.

Destiny didn't trust him. He was planning something. "Why do you care?" She barked. He had no business asking if she was going to leave the girls as they were. She was. But if she knew how to mend bones, she wouldn't.

Skipper sighed. This girl needed to learn self control. "You have no control." Skipper stated. He turned to leave.

"Wait." Destiny called. She didn't understand. What was he talking about?

Skipper stopped. He walked back up to her. She wanted an explanation. Skipper knew that's why she called him back.

She was very confused by his statement. But she didn't want to surrender to him. If she asked a question, he might think of her as week. Like her father did. He might view not knowing as a disgrace. Then there was the whole death idea. But she had to take a chance. Maybe he was different. "Um…What, what do you mean? I have no control. What? Is that some code or or a secret call?"

Skipper stared at her. She was worse than he was. And he thought he had a serious paranoia problem. She was nervous. He could feel it. Before he did any explaining she would have to calm down.

"First." He said "Calm down. I have no plans to do anything to you. It was just a statement. No code, no call, just words."

He could be lying. But she wasn't going to get anything out of him if she was so tense. _He can feel it._ Destiny thought, amazed. He could feel her tension. She would have to think about it later.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Can you answer my question now?"

Skipper was surprised that she actually calmed down. She had no control. Or so it seemed. "You have no control." He repeated.

"So?"

"So, you can't make yourself stop and think. You don't think before you commit acts of violence and cannot stop them once they start. You need to control yourself. Or this-" He gestured towards the girls. "Will happen again.

"And you have control?" Destiny questioned skeptically. "Your friends don't look any better."

"No they don't. But that rarely happens. And they are fixed." Skipper replied.

"What do you mean _fixed_?" Destiny asked.

"I mean, they don't have any broken bones anymore. If a bone isn't broken badly, you can simply push the two parts back together."

"Really?"

"Yes, which brings me back to my first question. Are you just going to leave them like that?"

"Why shouldn't I? They disobeyed me. They're going to hurt themselves."

"So you did it for them?"

"No. well- I didn't mean to."

"Are you going to leave them there? Really?"

"You shouldn't care!" Destiny snapped. She lunged at Skipper. He had no right to ask her that. And she didn't have you answer.

Skipper didn't expect her to do that. She really had no self control whatsoever. He jumped to the side and dodged her. "What's your problem? It was a question. Let them sit there in pain for all I care. It's your choice. But I would help them if I were you. Unless you want them to be afraid of you." Then he jumped out of the room. Outside. To the fresh air.

She had self control. She could control herself, when she wanted to. Who was he to tell her that she needed control anyway? It was none of his business.

They were asleep for eight hours.

Skipper was back in the HQ. Staying far away from Destiny.

Kowalski started moaning. He was waking up. So Skipper went over and took the poled off of Rico and Private.

The girls were already up. Kiki put them back together. She was alive. None of them spoke. All three kept their distance from Destiny. Classy especially. She had never been attacked like that. She stayed behind Kiki. Kiki would protect her. And If Destiny came at the again, Nick would protect Kiki, who would protect her. She just wanted to feel safe. She still hurt from when Kiki fixed her arm, and Destiny.

Kiki knew why Cassy was hiding behind her. She wanted to feel safe. Destiny never blew up at Cassy, or hurt her. Cassy wasn't brave enough to stand up to De yet. So she was never a target. Kiki was surprised she was alive. She expected to die when she blacked out. She was glad she didn't. She would've missed Nick and Cassy.

Nicky was happy that Kiki was alive. But she still hurt from Destiny. She kept her distance out of fear. Destiny needed to control herself. Nicky doubted she ever would. Destiny didn't like being told what to do. She only listened to Cassy. Most of the time. She loved Cassy, and would never send her out to do that. Destiny was easy to tick off. Cassy was just seeing the face of Destiny's temper. Now she would be too scared to say anything to De. And Nicky couldn't blame her. She was too scared at the moment too.

Destiny freed them from the rope. But they immediately got away from her.

Skipper was right. She didn't fix them. Now they were afraid of her. But she was filed with anger instead of sadness and guilt. It was their fault for trusting the boys. She looked at them. She walked towards them. This was their fault. Boys are not to be trusted.

"Oh no." Cassy whimpered. "She's going to hurt them."

"No Cass, she won't be able to." Kiki said softly.

"I'm sorry." Cassy cried silently.

Nicky turned to her. She wished she didn't. Cassy had two black eyes, tears pouring out of both, a black spot on her stomach and was babying her arm. Nicky could feel her heart crack. "No Cass, you don't have to be. We all tried to hide it." She said trying to calm Cassy down

"No. No it's all my fault." Cassy cried. "I let her catch me. And now everyone's hurt. And it's all my fault." It was all her fault. If she only stayed away from him and talked like she planned to. Then no one would be hurt. It was all her fault. This was all her fault.

Kiki turned to Cassy and looked at her. She was looking towards the ground, crying. "Cassy look at me. Look at me." Kiki instructed softly.

Cassy looked up at Kiki. She was always nice to her. She always felt protected around Kiki. She was like a nurse. Strict, and caring.

Kiki smiled at Cassy. She bent down and looked into Cassy's eyes. "This is not your fault. She over reacted okay?"

"Okay Kiki." Cassy sniffled. She knew it was her fault. Everything was always her fault somehow. She didn't try hard enough, or was in the way, or pressed the wrong button, or fell, or tripped, or got lost, or kidnapped, then they all wound up kidnapped. Every situation that ever got worse… got worse because of her. It was all her fault.

Kiki gave Cassy a hug. Cassy was smart. Maybe not Einstein smart, but she could learn fast, if she tried. All Cassy needed was to know that someone still cared. That someone would protect her. That no matter how many mistakes she made, she would still be important to someone. Kiki hated to see Cassy upset. Cassy never meant to do anything wrong. She made lots of mistakes. But none of them were on purpose. And even if they were, she meant well. Nicky protected Kiki. But Kiki was always there for Cassy. She knew, more than anyone, what it felt like to be neglected. Uncared for. She knew why Cassy just wanted to be acknowledged.

Nicky joined the hug. She would never admit it. But she liked hugs.

"You!" Destiny shouted pointing at the boys. "This is all your fault." She was almost to Kowalski. She was going to hurt these boys. They were the cause of all this trouble.

But someone pulled her back and threw her to the ground.

She looked up. _Skipper. Of course._ "What's your deal huh?" She growled.

Skipper stood between her, and the guys. She had no reason to attack them. She had her own problems to sort out before she went around making more. But Skipper had a feeling that he was going to have to fight her. And he was just about ready to. "You've done enough to your own friends." Skipper hissed. "So why don't you run on back to them and fix the problem you already created."

Destiny growled at him. He thought he controlled everyone. It was his thrown to sit upon. Not in her books. She could do whatever she wanted. She got back up and started to walk towards them again. When she got her hands on them-

"Back off!" Skipper shouted pushing her back. "I believe I already told you. But let me explain something to you." Skipper said angrily, walking towards Destiny. "If you touch even on feather on their heads, I will make sure you can never touch them again. Understand."

Destiny growled in reply.

"If I have to hurt you Destiny, don't think I wont." Skipper warned.

Destiny jumped at him.

She wanted to fight. Than Skipper was going to fight her

Destiny jumped at him again and it was official. The fight was officially on. Skipper really didn't know what he was doing. He acted on instinct. The flurry of fists and feet lasted an hour before both fighters were too tired to go on.

He turned to Kowalski Rico and Private. "Go." He ordered gesturing towards the door.

He turned back to destiny. "Your lack of self control is going to kill them. If you want the truth I think you're just dangerous. If you want you, or them to be any kind of happy here. Then you need to cool off and get in control. Because you aren't going back to Florida any time soon." Then Skipper left.

Destiny didn't do anything. She just stood there, feeling like a total, complete fool. Because he was right. She was the only problem here. Unfortunately that only fed her anger. But this time, she was able to hide it.

Cassy started walking towards Destiny but Kiki stopped her. "No, Cassy." Kiki said pulling her back. "Not yet. Let her-"

"You know he was right De." Nicky said softly. She was already half way to Destiny. She stopped there. "You know he was right. This has to stop. Or. Or you're really going to kill us. If this doesn't stop, then we're going to leave. We're going to leave you before you can hurt us again."

Kiki heard Nick's voice cracking. So she chimed in. "You made a promise De." Kiki said calmly. "And if you're not going to honor it… them we'd have no choice but to leave. De, we don't want to be afraid of you anymore. We want to be happy around you."

"Like the way it was before she left." Cassy said quietly. "We like that Destiny better."

Destiny didn't say anything. She didn't move at all. Truthfully, what Cassy said stunned her. It brought back all those feelings of abandonment. But Cassy _was_ right. They were always happy together before she left. She…she, liked that version of her better too.

She hung her head. She couldn't say anything. What was she supposed to say? No words could describe how…stupid and foolish she felt. How sorry and scared she was. How sad she felt. All at the same time. Misery and depression came nowhere close to what she was feeling. But she had to acknowledge them.

She felt her eyes burn. She felt a thousand knots form in her stomach. And she felt that, whatever part of her heart was left… disappearing. Withering away. Until it was gone completely, leaving only a deep, saddened whole in its place.

"We still love you De." Cassy said. Her voice was cracking. "We'll always will. You will always be our sister, De. You know that right?"

Destiny still didn't answer.

Nicky walked up and stood next to her. And she saw it. Everything that Destiny was feeling. It was all there on her face. She turned around and motioned for the others to come over.

They did. And saw the same thing.

Cassy remembered what Destiny had told her one day. Her heart was like a caged butterfly.

"Let the butterfly go now De." She said softly. "You can open the cage now."

Destiny knew exactly what Cassy was talking about. "There isn't a butterfly to set free now. It… it died." She replied.

She sounded so, sad, and ashamed, and depressed at the same time. "Every butterfly leaves an egg behind." Kiki added, speaking softly as well.

Destiny didn't know what to say.

"De?" Nicky asked, when Destiny remained silent.

"How?" Destiny asked.

"What?" Kiki asked confused.

"How. How can you stand here, and not…hate me? How can you stand there and say the things you just did? How can you stand there and do nothing to me, when I did so much to you?" Destiny asked.

She still sounded, sad, ashamed, and depressed. But there was something else there two. She was confused at why they weren't hurting her. How they could be so kind, when she was so harsh.

They were all shocked at the question. They didn't know what it was though. They didn't have the urge to be angry, or want to hate Destiny. Or hurt her. They just felt the need to… help her. And they didn't know how to explain that.

Kiki would at least attempt to. "Because we know. We know everything De. We can feel it. We know that you didn't really want to do this. We know how sorry you are. And how regretful you are. We don't want to mad at you, or want to hate or hurt you. We want to help you. Because we care. And we know. You do too."

"You really think so?" Destiny asked. She didn't know what to say anymore. She didn't know what she was feeling. But she knew, that her heart was reviving itself.

She looked up at them and saw that it was true. They just, cared.

They shared a group hug. With Destiny repeatedly apologizing.

"Just one thing." Destiny said when she calmed down.

"What?" the three asked.

"You're not allowed to see those boys."

"What? No." They moaned.

"Until further notice." Destiny wasn't going to let this situation repeat itself.

They were facing Skipper, lined up, expecting the worse, in the front of the Zoo. They were standing in front of the Zooveneer shop. They were standing backs straight and Beaks up. They had been like that for a few minutes. Starting to really hate Skipper for making them standing there.

"Relax." Skipper said Calmly. No emotion at all.

They all sighed and looked at him curiously. What was he going to do to them? He didn't look like he was going to do anything.

He was looking at them with no emotion at all. But he was relaxed. He wasn't his usual tense self. He was actually relaxed. He looked, friendly.

Kowalski cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well?" he asked. He was getting tired of waiting for a slap or a hit. Something.

"Well what?" Skipper asked casually. He was trying to find the right words.

"What are you going to do to us?" Private asked nervously.

Skipper sighed. "Well, nothing more than I have already." He said. He was hiding his shame and regret. "There are three things I need to tell you."

They nodded.

"First. I want to apologize."

They were all shocked to hear that. Mostly because they had expected bad things to happen. An apology was far from bad. It was good. Confusing. But good.

"I over did the punishment. A few hits would have been fine. But, I am ashamed to say, I lost control of my temper. I should have controlled it. And I have no excuse to why I didn't. But I can't change the past. So I'm sorry it happened. It shall not happen again.

"Second. You don't have to be afraid to tell me things. Trust me, it's easier than sneaking around. And it's unnecessary. The truth will always come out sometime.

"Thirdly. I think it would be important for you to know that I didn't get angry because you fell in love. And Kowalski, I know you can love if you want to. I have no right to stop you. I got angry because you chose to hide it. Because you disobeyed and tried to hide why. This is everyone's fault. I overreacted. And she definitely overreacted. But no one would have overreacted if you had said something earlier.

"One more thing. She is not going to let them see you. So you are going to have to sneak by her." Skipper finished. That was very hard to do. He didn't know what to say, so he just spoke his mind. That usually didn't work. Or creaped people out. But it worked out nicely this time.

Rico didn't understand. Did Skipper just tell them to sneak out with the girls? "gAbly hangeh yigst dimbkil dunsgistuh?" he asked.

"How else are you going to do it?" Skipper asked.

"Are you really telling us to sneak out at night?" Private asked in disbelief. Skipper was letting them see the girls! That was good. That was great. Now they didn't have to never see each other again.

"Not every night. But yes." Skipper replied.

"No." Kowalski said shaking his head. "You don't mean this. You're really going to give us permission to sneak around?" Kowalski asked.

"I am. Destiny doesn't get it. Love happens, period. I know you were going to sneak around anyway. You'll be quieter if you only have her to worry about." Skipper said. He smiled at them.

So he had heard the phrase _love happens_. Rico was surprised. But he was happy two.

All three of them were. Now they could see the girls. This should be fun.


	16. self control

"That's not fair!" Kiki shouted. Destiny didn't listen. She never listened to Kiki why would she listen now.

Kiki had just finished explaining how everything happened and what you got when you looked for love. But like always Destiny denied it and said that she wouldn't change her mind. And if they snuck around they would be in a whole lot of trouble.

"It is fair." Destiny said calmly.

"But-"

"No buts, Kiki." Destiny said sternly.

Kiki sighed, and shook her head.

"But De-" Cassy started.

"Don't try Cass." Kiki looked at Destiny, "She never listens."

"Excuse me?" Destiny asked. She listens, most of the time.

"You don't listen, De. You never listen. You just nod or shake you head and totally miss the point." Kiki argued. It was true. She was doing right now.

"And what's that?" Destiny asked. She was getting a little annoyed.

"We love them. And they love us. They're not going to hurt us. What's it gonna take to make you realize that?" Kiki asked. She was sick and tired of Destiny not listening to her.

"Proof, evidence, something that actually shows it. They could be tricking you Kiki. They could just want what every other boy wants." Destiny argued.

"But they aren't like any other bay De. They're different. The good kind of different." Kiki said.

"I don't think so." Destiny replied.

"You just don't want to listen De! I told you everything. There is nothing more to say. They are nice guys. They love us." Kiki said, trying a last hope to make Destiny listen. She knew it would fail. It always does. There was no last hope when talking to Destiny.

"My decision is final." Destiny stated. "Let's go."

She meant training. They knew that. They had a good break from the workouts, but now it was time to get back on track. Now it was time to pick up where they left off.

Destiny jumped out of the HQ.

"Oooo! I hate when she does that!" Kiki growled. She did honestly. Destiny could at least try to listen. She didn't even try.

"At least you tried Tiki." Nicky sighed. "It's hopeless. Talking to her, is like talking to a brick wall. If she don't like it, she don't listen. And we can't do anything about it." Nicky wasn't any happier than Kiki was. Destiny didn't listen to anything that she didn't agree with. If she didn't like the conversation, than it truly was like talking to a brick wall. There was no understanding from her side. And they always understood her. They knew why she did what she did. She didn't like boys, sneaking around her, and had no control. They knew. She didn't understand.

"Why do we have to train today?" Cassy whined, "I'm still sore, and it hurts to move a lot." Cassy didn't want to train. She needed two or three days to heal. She thought Destiny would at least give them that. But she was still mad. She still didn't care. Cassy thought she would at least calm down enough to realize how much she hurt them. How bad the pain was. She thought Destiny would be calmer after she broke down. But she just got less emotional. It was like she didn't feel anything. Like she had no heart.

"I know Cass, we are too." Kiki agreed.

"So let's not go." Nicky suggested, annoyed.

Kiki and Cassy stared at Nicky. Not go? That would just piss her off more.

"If she doesn't understand why we aren't there than it's her problem. She can't blame us when we tried to explain. We told her everything. It was her that didn't listen. We can't train when were so busted up. And it's her fault. So let's just stay here. And if she comes back all steamed, than we leave. We warned her. If she thought it was a bluff than she'll just have to come after us. Nicely. Without all the anger." Nicky was sick and tired of Destiny. If she wanted this friendship to last, than she would have to fight for it. Nicky was done. She was just…done. They warned her. If she chose to be a heartless monster than they were out of here.

"But what if she doesn't come after us nicely Nick?" Cassy asked, frightened. She couldn't bear to be attacked again. Not like that.

"Then we'll have to use force to keep her away." Kiki replied confidently.

"Yup. If she wants to attack full force, than we'll have to use force. We'll have to blow her up or something." Nicky said.

"We can't kill her!" Cassy said. She didn't want to kill Destiny. Just keep her away.

"No, no, not kill her." Kiki reassured,

"No just a minor explosion to tell her we're not joking around. Just to keep her away." Nicky said.

"Oh, ok." Cassy replied. As long as she wasn't killed.

"Are you guys coming!" Destiny called, annoyed. They were supposed to follow her. What the heck were they doing? Where were they? They knew better. They were being rebellious. Great, that was just great.

"Nope." Nicky replied.

That came as a shock to Destiny. They weren't coming when they knew what they were supposed to do? "What!" She shouted.

"We. Are not. Coming." Nicky said slowly. If Destiny was so blind as to not see why, than there was a problem.

Destiny jumped back down into the room. She couldn't take it anymore. What was wrong with these girls.?

Cassy didn't like Destiny being so made. She was actually losing her own temper. Destiny was going too far this time. Cassy was hiding behind Kiki, but she could still see Destiny. Destiny looked mad, just like she had for the past two days. She looked like she was ready to kill. And Cassy couldn't take it anymore. She was usually a mellow person. Very tolerant. But enough was enough.

She stepped out from behind Kiki and glared at Destiny. "We're not going to train when you left us like this." She growled.

Kiki, Nicky, _and _Destiny had to do a retake on Cassy. Was that _really_ Cassy? Standing there, _growling_ at Destiny? _Glaring_ at Destiny? The mellow-mostly obedient-quiet-friendly Cassy? Was that the same Cassy that was now mad, standing with flippers in fists, head tilted down, looking mighty pissed off?

Nicky couldn't help the smile that crawled across her face. She couldn't believe that nice mellow Cassy was standing, out in the open, growling at Destiny. At _Destiny_. The same Destiny that had nearly killed all three of them. The Destiny that could kill her right now if she really wanted too. Nicky though that Cassy would be too afraid to say anything to Destiny. Apparently Cassy was just as fed up as she and Kiki were. _Go Cassy._ She thought.

Kiki didn't smile like Nicky did. She was shocked beyond shocked. Cassy was standing right next to her. Not halfway behind her or behind her like she usually did when Destiny got so angry. Right next to her. And was growling at the very person who had nearly killed her not a day before hand. Kiki, like Nicky, thought that Cassy would be overly afraid to make any contact what so ever with Destiny. Destiny hit a new low. She successfully ticked Cassy off. Now _that_ was a very hard thing to do. Kiki felt like clapping and saying _congrats De. You got Cassy angry._ But that would end badly, and she was too shocked to say it.

Destiny was shocked as well. Cassy never growled, she never looked do angry. Why did she now? What Did she do to get Cassy so angry?

"We're done with it Destiny!" Cassy growled, "We can't take it anymore! He has control!" She shouted thinking about how the boys looked. They hurt, but didn't have to fix any bones. Their bones were already fixed, or never broken. "They weren't in so much pain when they woke up! Don't you have a heart at all! How many time do we have to get hurt before you realize? How many time do we have to talk to you before you listen! You don't understand anything De! You have no control! AND WE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Destiny got severely angry at that moment. She listened. She understood. Why were they treating her like this?

Kiki saw how mad Destiny got and pulled Cassy towards her. Not behind, just closer. Kiki knew how anger could get to De.

Then finally, after so much had happened, after being warned by Skipper, after being warned by them, after everything had had happened in the last three days, after everything. Something finally clicked in Destiny's brain. She felt a serge of control and calmness… that hadn't been there sense, she couldn't remember when. A serge of realization. She finally realized how, stupid, and blind, and careless, and heartless, she had been. She finally realized how badly she truly hurt them. She realized that for a long time, a very long time, she really hadn't understood anything. She really never listened. Cassy had been the final push that Destiny needed to realize everything. For Destiny to get control.

Destiny realized one other thing. She made Cassy angry. She, Destiny, made Cassy angry. She had done the impossible. It was a bad impossible. A very bad impossible.

What Kiki, Cassy, and Nicky saw next was the very thing they thought they'd never see.

Destiny went from complete anger, to total calmness. She was completely calm. But she also looked confused.

Cassy did too. Cassy was so shocked by Destiny's split reaction that anger was completely whipped from her mind.

Destiny _was _confused. It took her a moment to fully realize what had happened. It took her a moment to figure it out.

She had control now. Her anger was out of control, not a minute before. But she was completely calm right now.

"I-I-I." Destiny didn't know what to say. She was overjoyed. She had control. She wouldn't be able to hurt them for no good reason anymore. That was good. That was terrific. She had control! She was freed from her anger fits. She was free now. She didn't have to fight to control her anger. Or at least not so hard anymore. But she was very confused. What had happened? How did she all of a sudden have control? How did that work? Did she really just have to go severely overboard to gain control? But even more important, did she go too far? Could she fix this? She hoped so. But now she had to explain it. And she didn't know how.

"You… what?" Kiki asked confused. But she wasn't as confused as Destiny looked. Kiki was very curious to know what had just happened.

"I-I don't know." Destiny replied. She laughed. "I really don't know.

They just stared at her like she had gone completely mad. And if they didn't know her better that's what they would've thought.

"You don't know what?" Kiki asked. She couldn't help smiling. She had a feeling that something good had just happened. Something very good. And she let it show in her voice.

Nicky still looked confused, not so much anymore. But still confused. She too could feel that something good just happened. What that was…she didn't know.

"I-I…I'm not angry anymore." Destiny smiled. She wasn't angry. And it felt so good not t be angry anymore. She was always a little angry. And she had forgotten how good it felt not to be angry at all.

"You're what?" Cassy asked, happily. She couldn't believe her ears. Destiny wasn't angry. She wasn't angry at all. She looked...happy. Happier than she has looked in a very, very long time. It was a marvelous sight. It was a good sight.

"I'm not angry. I'm not even slightly annoyed." She replied.

Cassy and Kiki felt the same thing. Destiny sounded happy, relieved. She did it. She finally did it.

"Kiki… I-I think I did it." Destiny said. She did it. Kiki didn't have to be afraid anymore. Destiny wouldn't lose her temper anymore.

"You did what?" Kiki asked. She knew what Destiny did. But she thought it would be better to play stupid.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore." Destiny replied. She finally did it. And she couldn't believe it took her so long.

"You did it? You kept your promise?" Kiki asked. But she wasn't playing dumb this time. She really couldn't believe Destiny did it. After everything. Not just sense they got here. Not just sense they arrived at the zoo. But everything before hand too. Destiny had control. She finally had control.

"Wait! Wait, wait just one minute." Nicky interrupted. She was tired of being clueless. "De-secritize this please."

Kiki stared at Nicky. "You have the best timing I swear." She said jokingly.

"Yes I know. Thank you, thank you." Nicky replied and bowed, also playfully.

The mood of the room was happy for once. So they could be playful.

"Well, Nicky, since you have the need to interrupt. I will tell you. You do recall the incident with me and De a week or two ago yes?" Kiki said. Turning towards Nicky. She leaned forward as she talked for effect.

"Yes I do. I do indeed." Nicky replied, nodding.

They were still talking with playful voices. It added to the happy mood of the room.

Destiny and Cassy laughed. They were acting… silly. It was a serious conversation done in playful voices. Destiny couldn't help laughing. She felt so relieved and happy. And they were really acting silly.

"Well then. After everyone was kicked out of the room, me and my good friend Destiny had a little chat."

"Oh did you now?"

"Yes we did. And during that little chat of ours we made a promise."

"And what promise was that?"

"If she would gain self control, than I would no longer be so afraid."

"Oh. You see now everything makes sense."

They all laughed. Kiki and Nicky had fun with that conversation. It was silly. But it explained things.

"You guys." Destiny laughed.

They laughed for a while. And it felt good to laugh together like that. To laugh with Destiny like that.

Destiny felt good laughing like that. By the time they calmed down it was final. Destint wouldn't be losing control anytime soon. And it was time to fix some things.


	17. the perfect moment

_**So far so good? Here's the next one. **_

They all went to bed that night. The girls were happy that they wouldn't be dealing with anymore freak anger fits. And the boys confused about what Skipper had just did. Skipper went to bed wondering what would possibly happen next.

Kowalski got up at twelve o'clock in the morning. It was sort of a test run. He had never snuck out _with_ someone. Yet alone someone who had a guard like Destiny. It was a test to see what not to do. Skipper had taught them how to be quiet so he wouldn't make a noise. But Skipper had good hearing, very good hearing. And even though a normal ear wouldn't hear him. If Destiny had good hearing too he was dead meat. He hoped that didn't happen.

He tip toed over to Kiki.

"What are you doing?" Destiny asked.

Kowalski froze. She didn't sound overly angered. But he didn't want to risk it. "I dropped something over here and waited to see if it was still there." He said as calmly as he could.

"Do it tomorrow." She ordered.

"Oh um…ok." He walked away, back to his bunk. He was about to climb up when he saw Skipper. He nearly gave himself a heart attack. He didn't know why, he just felt very startled.

"Need help?" He whispered. But he sounded cocky. Like he knew Kowalski would screw up.

And it was true. Skipper knew that Kowalski would screw up. He could feel it.

"Yes." Kowalski said shamefully. He knew he did a bad job at sneaking around.

"Get them and go up." Skipper whispered. If they were up and out then he could just sneak the girls out. But if they were there, things might go badly.

Kowalski nodded and got Rico and Private to go up and out the latch door. He followed, but couldn't help looking back. Skipper was still watching him so he left. He wanted to know what Skipper was doing. But he didn't want to get in the way so he didn't go back and watch.

Skipper had to get the girls out without making a single sound. That wasn't going to be easy. So he decided to start with the one who he though would be the quietest. Kiki.

He tip toed up to Kiki and poked her shoulder. He honestly couldn't believe what he had gotten himself into. These girls had turned everything in the penguin habitat upside down. But, even though he would deny it, he was starting to like the excitement. It wasn't a good excitement. But t was surely and adventure he never saw himself going on. He could say without any doubt in the world, he did not see this situation coming. However saw himself sneaking girls out for them. Not even in his dreams. Or nightmares, however this adventure would end. It was one of the few that Skipper actually didn't have a clue to how it would end. But he was curious. How would this adventure end? He would have to think about that later.

Kiki was sound asleep when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw a figure standing over her. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw who it was. _What does he want?_ She thought startled. She really hoped he wasn't going to hurt her. She was getting sick of pain. Even though Destiny had control now. She needed a break.

Skipper saw the shock on Kiki's face. He backed up and motion for her to follow him. He wasn't going to turn around until Kiki started walking.

Kiki was confused. She got up and walked towards him. But she was still confused. What did he want? And why was he doing this? She couldn't figure him out. He had a grip on his temper. She saw that by how well he dealt with Destiny before the incident. And she saw how he fixed his mistakes by how he seemed to fix the boys. But she didn't understand what he was doing. She guessed she would find out.

She was as quiet as she could be, for his sake. Destiny may have control now, but she would still blow a fuse if she saw this.

She still heard a very faint _pat, pat, pat_, as her toes hit he floor. But Skipper didn't make a sound. He was like a ghost. Destiny was like that too. But she was still creeped out by how silent he was being.

Skipper could hear her feet very well as they hit the floor. He knew she was being as silent as she could though. She was quieter than the boys. That didn't surprise him though. He hadn't worked on stealth in a while. He got right under the latch door and knelt down. He put his flippers together to make a step for Kiki.

Kiki stopped right next to him and stared at his flippers. Now she was very confused. She looked over at the bunks. No one was there. Then she knew. She looked back at him.

Skipper saw he look at the bunks. He smiled when she looked back at him. Surprised when she smiled back. There was a good side to helping lovers. They didn't hate you. And you knew what they were doing. He shook his flippers trying to tell her to hurry up. He couldn't say anything. Silence was the key here.

Kiki got the message and put one foot onto his flippers.

In one swift and fast movement Kiki fond herself up, out of the HQ and in Kowalski's arms. And it felt good to hug him again.

He put her down away from the latch door and smiled. He liked having her there, with nothing to stop his love from reaching her. He liked being this close to her and not having to worry about being caught. He loved her. More than anyone would ever know. Except Skipper. Kowalski had a feeling that he knew very well how much Kowalski loved Kiki. But he wasn't entirely sure.

Kiki knew what Skipper was doing now. But she had no clue as to why. And she didn't care. She had Kowalski with her now. She had forgotten to ask Destiny about that. But she knew it would be no. She could feel it now that De would say no. And right now it didn't matter. She was sleeping, there was no wall between her and Kowalski now. She was happy. She wanted to say something. But if she did De would wake up. And then everything would be over. She would never see Kowalski again. And she didn't want that. He was the one boy who had finally liked her. Who didn't make fun of her, of laugh at her, or bully her. He was the first, charming, handsome, inelegant, nice boy she had met. And she wasn't losing him.

She hugged him again. Staying in his arms longer than she had before.

They both enjoyed it.

Skipper walked over to Cassy next. He did the same thing tapping on her shoulder to wake her up.

Cassy was in a deep sleep, but she felt something hitting her shoulder. So she woke up and looked at the figure that was taping her. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. She was terrified. What did he want? Why was he there? What was he doing? Why? She wanted to scream. And she opened her mouth to but Skipper closed it. She looked at him. He didn't look dangerous at all. Well his eyes didn't. They looked a little panicked. She knew why. Whatever he was doing, it required Destiny not waking up. But she wanted to know what was so important. And why he couldn't wake Destiny.

Skipper had a small panic attack. If Destiny woke up it was all over. And he couldn't do that to these guys. They still focused on their training. So there really wasn't anything wrong with this love. But if Cassy screamed, Destiny would wake up, and they all would be dead. So she had to be quiet. He slowly removed his flipper from her beak and backed up a few steps. The he motioned for her to follow him, like he did to Kiki.

Cassy was frightened. But it didn't look like he was going to hurt her yet. And maybe if she didn't listen he would hurt her. So she listened to him and followed. She was as silent as she possibly could be. But she still heard her feet hit the floor.

Skipper did too. They were louder than Kiki's foot steps were. But if Destiny stayed sleeping then everything would be ok. He got under the latch door and knelt down, making a step with his flippers as he did before.

Cassy knew what to do. She was very hesitant. But she thought that if she didn't want to get hurt she had to listen to him. She didn't know what was up there. She wished she did. But she didn't. Maybe it was her death for talking to Private.

She stepped onto Skippers flippers and was thrown out of the HQ. Someone caught her and gave her a hug. She opened her eyes. Or maybe it was Private who was waiting for her. She hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. It was Private. She couldn't believe it. Skipper was bringing her to Private. She was still confused. But she didn't really care right now. She hadn't thought to ask De about him last night. But that didn't matter right now either. She was with Private. And Destiny was sleeping. Far away from finding her in his arms. Far away from keeping their hearts apart. Far away from ending her happiness.

Private hugged her back. He was very happy. Skipper was helping them sneak out with the girls. He wasn't just letting them do so. He was helping them. And now Private her Cassy in his arms. Now that he realized how impossible this would be if Destiny was awake. He was very Grateful for Skippers level of understanding even more for the fact that he was with the first love of his life. And he didn't have to hide it from his best friend. But mostly, he was overjoyed to have her there. With nothing keeping their hearts apart. With nothing keeping him from loving her. Maybe he could steal a kiss. Or a smile. Cassy had the brightest smile he had ever seen. And he didn't like the thoughts that had run through his head today. That he would never see it again. But here she was. And he had already seen the smile. And he could already feel their hearts rejoining. And…he liked the feeling.

They both did. They both liked the feeling that they could be together now. They both liked the feeling of their hearts coming together again. It was a happy feeling.

Skipper went over to Nicky carefully. If she was anywhere near as dangerous as Rico was than he might lose his flipper. Rico's blown him up in the morning before. Talk about your morning wake up call. He too a deep silent breath before he tapped Nicky. He jumped back just in time to miss the knife that she whipped around. He put his arms out in front of him, motioning for her to calm down.

Nicky always slept with a knife. Destiny knew to grab the knife before waking Nicky up in the middle of the night. This guy didn't. But he did have some damn good reflexes. Rico's were better. She thought she would have to fight him. But she changed her mind when she motioned for her to calm down. What was this psychotic freak doing? Why did he want her to calm down? And why was he being so quiet. Nicky wasn't stupid, there was a reason. And she was going to find out what it was. If this freak was going to kill her than he would be the dead one. She didn't die easily.

Skipper kept his distance from Nicky. He knew she didn't trust him. But she was just as unpredictable as Rico first was when he first met Rico. Now he knew Rico like the back of his flipper. But Nicky he didn't know. All he knew was that she had fallen in love with Rico and he with her. He motioned for her to follow him. But he wasn't so sure about how close he really wanted to get to her. She seemed to be very, dangerously unpredictable. And he didn't want to wined up dead. She couldn't really take him down. But he didn't want to have to fight her. Not here when she was the last one he had to get out.

She followed him to the latch door reluctantly. She was cautious, she didn't trust him. There could be guys with knives up there. But she stepped onto his flippers anyway. If she died. Rico would Kill Skipper for her. She flew up and, speaking of Rico, landed in his arms. Now she was very confused. And she would have to admit, Skipper had just gained half of her trust. She was happy though. She had also forgotten to ask De about Rico. But now it didn't matter. Destiny would just say no anyway. She was in Rico's arms now. She felt safe. Loved. She felt her paranoia leave as it was replaced with the sense of security. And she was glad that she was there with him. She hugged him, not sure of what else she should do. She couldn't say anything. That would wake Destiny up, and then –as Rico says- everything would go kabloomy. And she didn't want that. Rico loved her. She knew that. And she loved him. Destiny didn't understand. But she pushed Destiny to the back of her mind. Destiny was sleeping. She wouldn't be able to stop this. She had no power right now. And Nicky did. She had the power to love and be loved by Rico. And feely give her love to him.

Rico was overjoyed to have Nicky in his arms. He had started to think that he would never touch her again. Never hear her sweet, strong voice. Or her laugh. She had a nice laugh. He never thought that he'd ever see her flaming purple eyes again. But here they were. Here she was. And he was glad that she was. He hugged her back, feeling her perfectly smooth, glossy feathers as his arms surrounded her. He knew why Kowalski wanted them to come up here now. So they could sneak away with their loves. He was glad, very happy. Very comfortable with her in his arms. He didn't intend on letting her go. He loved her more than he had loved anything in his entire life. She was special. She had liked him enough to learn his language. She had given him a chance. And she loved him. She was the perfect girl. Wild and thoughtful. Mostly wild though. He could sense how she held herself together like he had to do. He knew how she felt. And he knew that she loved him, and he loved her.

Skipper jumped up and saw them hugging. All six of them. He realized just how much they really did love each other. How much they longed for each other. He was glad than he did thins. He really was. Now they knew that if they wanted to see each other all they would have to do is ask him. And he would help. He wasn't all for this. But seeing as happy as they were…he knew that even if he didn't fully agree with it, he would help them see each other. He knew how love felt. But he knew that he didn't know how it felt to truly know that someone loved you. To know that someone really did love you. And he was starting to doubt that he ever would. But right now he felt happy. Happy that they did. Happy that they felt the way they did right now. Seeing people happy made him happy. It came with the hero package. Well the lost hero package. Lost heroes were basically the average ones. Like fireman and police. Those were forgotten heroes because no one really woke up in the morning and said 'I'm surrounded by heroes. Skipper was proud to be a forgotten hero. He knew what it felt like to be abandoned and left to die. And he didn't think anyone deserved to feel that. And then there was his heart and conscience. But he wasn't thinking about that. He was thinking about them. And how happy they made each other. And how she didn't see that. Destiny didn't see how happy they made each other.

He silently closed the latch door. And as he looked back up at them a song passed through his head. Which was weird because he didn't usually listen to music. But he had heard a song that fit the scene perfectly. I don't want to miss a thing by Aerosmith. As he thought about it, it really was the perfect song. For them it was. They were staring at each other with eyes that said how they felt about each other. Eyes that were filled with more love than Skipper had ever seen in anyone's eyes. It sent his worries out the door. They really did love each other. There would be no heart breaks. He smiled at them. He didn't want to ruin the moment. He wanted to leave them like that. They could probably stay like that for a while.

Then the girls put their heads on they boy's chests'. Skipper watched as their heads lowered and watched Kowalski, Rico, and Private's heads lower on top of the girls.

_Now that is a perfect moment._ Skipper thought. And it was. It truly was. As he watched a sharp spark of longing rushed through him, filling him with sadness. Not the teary sadness. The longing sadness. As he watched, he found himself wanting a love that would last. Wanting someone who would love him for who he was. But he was lucky he had the few friends he had. He wasn't someone people got along with easily. But that was who he was. And people seemed to hate him for it. Until he had gotten here. To the zoo of misfits. And even so, people here didn't like him. He had given up on the whole thing. No one was out there for him. No one ever would be. And he had accepted that. Even so, it still put knots in his stomach. But his goal in life was to leave a mark on someone's heart. And so far, he had six. It was the slightest mark. But they would remember. And that's all he wanted. All he truly purely wanted. There were other things. Love was something he would want until the day he died. That was a fact.

So as he watched them, he felt the longing for love himself. But he felt happy for them. Happy that they had found love. As he watched with the song playing in his head. He knew they would remember this moment forever. And that was a good thing. As he watched, he could see the loved that they had for one another. And he couldn't help the grin that came across his face. The grin that told him that he _was_ happy for them. That he was letting this happen when he could've stopped it. When everyone would think he would. Because he knew. When there is a perfect moment of love…it needed to be stretched to last as long as possible. And he was going to let the moment last for his friends. For the girls. Because he knew.

This was their perfect moment. And they deserved it.


	18. a little explanation

One by one they looked up at Skipper.

Skipper saw them do so. But he couldn't get the smile off of his face. He still had the song playing in his head. He had let them end the moment. He wasn't going to interrupt. He still had knots in his stomach. But he tried to ignore them.

They smiled back at him. The only one who wasn't confused at all was Kowalski. He knew what and why Skipper was doing this. He didn't ever picture Skipper doing anything like this. But here they were. And it was all thanks to Skipper.

The girls still didn't care about their confusion. Rico and Private wanted to know why though.

Skipper motioned for them to follow him. Then he jumped out of the habitat. He knew they would follow him. They did last time. And now they know that he's helping them. He still didn't know what he had gotten himself into. But he kept walking. Thinking. Maybe he wasn't giving fate a chance to let him meet someone. But maybe he was right not to. Maybe there really wasn't a match for him. The second thing he thought about was what he had just did. He had to keep Destiny asleep long enough to get them _back_ into the HQ. He had to make sure she didn't wake up. And he had to explain to the girls why he did this.

He woke himself out of his thoughts just in time to stop himself from running into a wall. He shook his head and turned around. The girls were still leaning on the boys. Skipper could almost see the love that they were radiating. All of them.

Kiki stood up straight and looked at Skipper. She was still very confused. Why was he doing this? Didn't he not want this like Destiny did? There was something very wrong here. And she had to know what it was. "Why?" She asked calmly. She couldn't act any other way. She felt too blissful. She was confused. But she wasn't impatient or angry. Just confused.

Skipper to a deep breath. This could take a while. "Why what?" Skipper replied. He knew what she wanted. But he needed just a little more time to think.

"Why did you do that?" Kiki asked. Now she was a little impatient. She knew that he knew what she meant. But some people need more time to organize thoughts. She knew that too.

"Because." Skipper said. "You deserved it." He thought that that was a suitable answer. He wasn't very good in the love genera.

"Deserved what?" Cassy asked. She still didn't get it. She was holding Private's hand, standing up straight too now. She was confused. What did they deserve?

"I'm gonna take a guess that we deserved to be together?" Kiki stated. That's what she got out of Skipper's short answers. They didn't give a lot of information.

"Yup." Skipper said. He didn't have to do a lot of talking.

He answered in short sentences and they figured out the more complicated meanings. They figured out that Skipper was just tired and annoyed, and he always got a little ticked when he was disobeyed. Add those three together and he snapped. They figured out that Skipper did in fact put them back together and tried to tell Destiny to do the same. They figured out his whole side of what happened. And of course why he did this.

And they actually told him how this happened. How they fell in love. And how thankful they were towards him. for letting them see each other again.

"What about you?" Cassy asked. He had to like someone.

"What do you mean me? There is no what about me." Skipper replied. There wasn't, he was sure about that.

"There's no special someone for you?" Nicky asked curiously. There had to be someone. The world was a big place.

"I'm not someone people get along with easily." He replied.

"Nope." Kiki stated. "I don't believe it. I'm sorry but you're wrong. There's someone out there."

"No. There is not." Skipper argued. There wasn't. This was a fact.

"Can I ask why?" Kiki asked. There had to know why he didn't think he would ever fall in love. There was always a reason.

"No." Skipper replied, calmly. They didn't need to know. It was personal. Too personal.

"Why don't you believe there's a match for you?" Nicky asked. She knew he wouldn't exactly like the question. No one liked a personal question. She didn't. And he seemed to cage a lot of information. He didn't give up personal info easily. Or so it seemed.

"Because. There just isn't" Skipper said. He wanted them to leave the subject alone. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't think there was a match for him because every girl he fell in love with, never loved him back. They only acted to get closer to him. So their partner could kill him. Because no one liked him. They all hated him. And it hurt. He wanted someone to love him for who he was. But that was never going to happen.

"There's a reason you think that." Kiki stated. "What is it?" she pushed.

"Come on just tell us." Cassy said. She was curious.

"We told you why we fell in love." Kowalski added.

"I think you owe us an explanation on why you want." Nicky said.

"Yup." Rico agreed.

He stayed silent for a few minutes. Mostly because they were right. They told him why they loved. It was his turn to tell them why he didn't. He just didn't know how to say it.

He sighed. "Because. I got tired of it." He said. His voice a mixture of calmness and longing. He always wanted one of them to love him back. Truthfully love him back.

"Got tired of what?" Nicky asked confused. "Love?"

"No." Skipper replied defensively. He didn't get tired of love. "I got tired of the lies. I told myself if that's all I'll ever find then what's the point? I'm not going to do anymore." Skipper explained.

"The lies?" Cassy didn't understand that part.

Skipper sighed. "Yes the lies. I gave up on love because it was used to get close to me. To kill me. They never really had any feelings what so ever towards me. No one ever did. So what's the point?"

They didn't say anything.

"I didn't see why I should trust people with my heart if they were just going to break it. I got tired of the pain. So I stopped taking chances." He explained. That was the truth. He was tired of the heart ache. He was tired of feeling so sad and depressed. So he caged his heart. Hid it from the world. He showed it with his actions. But he never loved again. Never let his heart try to love again. And he had friends. Because they took the time to find his heart. And they knew it was hidden. Now they knew why.

"So why don't you take chances anymore?" Kiki asked.

Skipper had to stare at her for a moment. Didn't he just tell her? Then he figured it out. She wanted to know why he didn't take a chance every once in a while. And there was a simple answer. He turned away from them, closing his eyes and tilting his head down. "Because. I don't know if I'll be able to piece my heart back together again if it gets broken."

"I think you shouldn't fully give up on love." Cassy said. "There's still a chance you know."

"No. There's not. It's a fact I learned the hard way." Skipper replied, turning back to them. "Go. Do whatever you want. But be back before five." He ordered. Then he turned and left. Thinking. They were right. Deep down he knew they were right. But right now he didn't think so.

The girls really didn't know what to say. They were confused. They were also sorry for him. He had made up his mind that there was no, love out there for him. Maybe it was true. But if it wasn't. Then it was still sad. Because he wouldn't open up enough to let that love find him.

"He's a lot deeper than you'd think." Kowalski stated. And, based on what he had observed and listened to in years gone by, it was true. But he sensed their confusion.

"Yeah." Kiki said, still trying to comprehend what he had said.

And that was it. The three couples went and did different things.

Private took Cassy to Rockefeller center. Kowalski took Kiki to the top of the Empire State Building. And Rico took Nicky on a cruse boat that was just leaving the harbor. It went around the island. It was more like a tour boat.


	19. nighttime fun

Private took Cassy to the Radio City Music Hall. After that he took her to see the Christmas tree. Right next to the tree was an ice rink. So they ice skated.

"Private you don't have to take me to see a musical." Cassy insisted. He didn't have to do that for her. Just being able to see him was enough.

"Of course I do. It'll be fun." Private replied. He knew that Cassy would just love the Christmas spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall. Everyone loved the Rockettes.

They snuck in one of the windows above the big radio city music hall's sign, and found their way into the roof above the stage. The spotlights that shone down on the stage made holes in the roof. All the cords that turned them on were on the floor. Private ad Cassy looked for an unoperational light and pulled it out. They could see the whole stage from it.

The stage was huge. The room below them was huge. There were three balconies on each side of the room. And an outline on the floor right in front of the stage.

"What's it for?" Cassy asked. It seemed odd to have an outline on the floor of a theater like this. Everything was so elegant. There were red curtains that hung over the stage. They were probably pulled up by a rope. At the top of the curtains where they met the wall, was decorations. In the middle was a gigantic writhe that lit up in different colors. It would flash from red to blue to green to purple to white and back to red. Then there were green bunched of pine needles that ran along the top and also lit up in different colors. On either side of the theater hung two yellow cylinders. From the top of them four ribbons connected the cylinders to the wall. But they were relaxed so the cylinders were probably held up by a chain. It was beautiful. She was blown away. It made her anxious to see the play.

"It's for the orchestra," Private informed. She would be so blown away be the whole thing. It disserved the name spectacular. It truly was. Private was happy to see that Cassy was so curious. By the look of amazement on her face he could tell that just the interior design of the theater had her blown away. He smiled at her. He was glad he was here with her. It was seven days before Christmas. With a Christmas miracle, maybe they wouldn't have to sneak out to see each other. All they needed was a Christmas miracle.

"They have a live orchestra?" Cassy asked excitedly. "Oh I love orchestra's" She did. Kiki was the music fanatic. But they both shared the love of orchestras. They both loved how orchestras could be soft and hard. Quiet and loud. They both loved how sweet orchestra's tended to sound. And live orchestras sounded the best. They sounded better than recordings. But either way. The music they produced was amazing.

"Yes. It's quite amazing what the orchestra can do." Private said. He always liked the orchestra. It was made of very talented humans. Musicians. You could tell that they liked their job.

"It is. All orchestras are great." Cassy said. She loved them.

Private had gotten a clock from Rico. Kowalski did too. But he needed to know what time it was so he knew when they should start heading back to the zoo. Right now it was twelve forty four. So they had time. The show lasted two hours and started at one. So he figured, after the show they would go to the garden top hotels of Rockefeller Plaza for an hour. And then to the tree until five. It was a good plan. But Private knew they would stray from it at least a little bit.

After waiting for a few more minutes the show began. It was like a musical. The first thing that was done was jingle bells. All of the Rockettes were dressed up as reindeer and there was a jolly old man playing Santa. He had a round little belly and rosy red cheeks. And he sure sounded like Santa. He sang as the Rockettes danced. They did everything together. Their legs all kicked up at the exact same time. They all walked forward at the same time. They all spun at the same time and danced in perfect unison.

Cassy favorite two acts were the soldiers on parade and the twelve days of Christmas. She loved how the Rockettes moved together so perfectly. Even when they danced. It was amazing. And the costumes they wore fit perfectly with the songs they danced to. They were dresses as wooden soldiers for the wooden soldiers on parade act. And dressed up in Christmas colors, all matching, for the twelve days of Christmas it was just spectacular. Hence the name, Radio City Christmas Spectacular. And the orchestra, who played most of the music, was absolutely marvelous. She loved every minute of the show.

Private liked the show. But as he watched he only hoped she would like it. And everything else too.

"That was amazing Private." Cassy laughed jumping out of the window that they had entered before. "You really didn't have to show me that."

Private looked at her. She had a brilliant smile on her face. She liked it. No, she loved it. Mission part one, complete. Now He had to get her on top of the hotels. She would love that. Or he hoped she would. He wanted her to have a good time. So they didn't have to do everything. They didn't have to see the plaza tops. They didn't have to see the tree. They could do whatever she wanted to do. Private didn't really care as long as she was happy. "I though you'd like it." He replied smiling. He was glad she liked the show.

"Well you were right. It was absolutely marvelous." Cassy said happily. She didn't expect him to do that. She had expected a walk in the park, or a boat ride. Something overly romantic. But she didn't want romance. What Private did was what she liked. It was better than plain old romance.

Private thought for a moment. Maybe they would skip climbing to the top of the plaza's. Maybe she would like the tree better. A week before Christmas, the tree should be fully decorated and shining like a million stars in the night. Maybe she would like that better. She seemed to like beautiful things. More than flowers. She really liked the Christmas Spectacular. It had a modern beauty to it. But it was also old fashioned too. Private didn't know why it seemed that way. But it did. So maybe she liked abnormal beauties. Or beauties that are seen only certain times in a year. Like the spectacular. And the tree. The tree was right around the corner. It was only a few blocks away. It wouldn't take them long to get there.

And most of the night life people stayed inside. It was a very cold night. But not for penguins. Or those who had no sense of feeling cold. So they could walk out in the open. No one was walking around the tree. That was a tad bit odd. But he could see the lights from the tree shining from behind a building. It lit up the buildings around it. Illuminating the night. The city was normally a bright place. But the Rockefeller tree brought new meaning to bright. It wasn't blinding because its lights were spread out. But it sure looked that way.

All of the buildings around them stood above them like giants. But they also held a certain beauty. Maybe it was how the street lights hit them, Making them seem like models on a runway. Or maybe it was how they were lined up so straightly in certain parts that you could see the moon and bright stars, like they wanted you to see the beauty of nature. Well maybe the moon and stars was more along the lines of space but still. The City may never sleep. It may be a big apple, and one of the busiest states in the country. But maybe all the lights made it look…pretty. Maybe all of the thumps of feet and whines of engines, and the honking of car horns, gave the city a rhythm. And all of it. What made the city the big apple, and the city that never sleeps, all of the people, and the lights, and the buildings, and the cars. Maybe they all painted a perfect picture. And once you moved in, you became part of it.

Great minds must think alike, because that is what both of their minds were wrapped around. The beautiful picture that was created by all of the people and cars and buildings. They almost walked right past the tree. But a taxi cab honked its horn and woke them both up. They were standing right in front of the Rockefeller tree. And it was big. Bright, and beautiful. It had ribbons running around the tree from top to bottom. It had garland placed in such a way that it added to the beauty. The tree had bows that popped up and had no patter. But it was still beautiful. And the lights. There was a mix of rainbow lights and white lights. They ran around the tree making it shine out in all directions. And at the tippy top of the tree was an angel. The angel was silver with very light gray wings and a golden halo. The whole tree was just, amazing. It was beautiful, marvelous, spectacular. It was just, the most beautiful tree in the world.

Or to Cassy it was. She was staring at the tree, mouth open in awe, thinking that this was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Private it's so…so.. Lovely." She said excitedly. "It's amazing! And you get to see it every year?" She asked joyfully.

"Every year the humans put it up. It's a beautiful tree. Everything fits, even when you don't think it should." Private replied calmly. But with a happy voice. He was happy she liked it. He half knew she would. Everyone loved the tree in Rockefeller Center. But he never seen any one react the way she did. She was a fan of abnormal, season beauty. Well maybe not abnormal. But she seemed to like seasonal things.

"Private, you really didn't have to." Cassy said, thankfully. She was enjoying herself. But now she had to do something for him. And she didn't know what.

"I know. But I wanted to. And I'm glad you like it. I hoped you would." He replied happily. "But there's one more thing." He added.

"No, no more." She said smiling. She didn't need anything else. He proved it. She realized. He proved that he loved her. She didn't think love should happen that fast. She only knew him for half a month and she was sneaking out with him. Well she did say she would. If she really had to. And after being in his arms. She thought she didn't ever want to let him go. And so far she hadn't. They have holding hands, or flippers, since they left the zoo. He helped her through the window, both ways, and he didn't seem to mind it. He seemed to forget where his other flipper was. Or maybe he liked having his flipper in hers. She liked having hers in his flipper.

"Just one more thing. And then we can do what ever you want. If we have time." Private replied. He didn't mean for it to sound as romantic as it did. But it was pretty romantic when he thought about it. Ice skating was something lovers did. It is something a couple always did in the winter. If they could ice skate. Which he could, and hoped she could. But he didn't mean to sound so romantic. And by Cassy's reaction. By the way she gave him a loving smile, he figured he had used a little too much romance in that last sentence. But everything felt romantic. Even though the only romantic thing they were currently doing was holding hands. And that wasn't really _romantic._ It was more minor than anything. But he still liked it. He liked holding her hand. But he couldn't explain why.

He led her to the fence that surrounded the ice rink. The ice rink was in the ground. It was equal to the basement level of an apartment building. So the fence didn't really surround the ice rink. It sat on top of the concrete that surrounded the ice rink. But an ice rink was an ice rink, weather it was in the ground or above it right?

"You're taking me ice skating?" Cassy asked shocked. But happy. Happily shocked. She liked ice skating. But the whether down in Florida was warmer. And they rarely saw any ice. But she did like ice skating.

"I am. If you would like to." Private replied, gentleman like.

Cassy smiled at him. It was like playing a game. A cat and mouse game. Romantic style. Sort of. She wasn't a fan of romance. But maybe Private could change her mind.

Private smiled back. This would be fun. The ice skating. But everything else had already been fun. Maybe not the active, laughing fun. But still fun. And ice skating would make it better.

They jumped over the fence and landed on the hard, smooth, cold surface of the ice.

Giving each other another smile. Romantic smile. A cat and mouse smile. They began ice skating. It was more romantic than anticipated. But fun all the same. It was romantically fun. They both enjoyed it.

Elsewhere….

"Up there?" Kiki asked, nervously, looking up at the Empire state Building.

"Yes up there. All the way on the top. It's a beautiful view. I think you'll like it." Kowalski replied calmly. He smiled reassuringly at her. The top of the Empire state building was a perfect place. She said she didn't want to walk around a lot. And wanted to be somewhere quiet and alone. So they could go to the top of the building. All the way to the top. Above where the humans went. Higher than that. where they could really see the city. Alone. The building was closed now. Or the top was. So they would have to hot wire the elevator. Or he would have to. Unless she wanted to help. It was totally up to her.

"Oh no. No no no no no. I am not going up there. No way. Nah ah. You're not bringing me up there." Kiki protested. She didn't like heights. She said somewhere quiet and alone. Not a thousand feet in the air. She fell off high things before. And it was only when she was about to hit the ground when someone saved her. She did hit the ground once. And it was the last time she ever went on something super high. And it was going to be her last. She wasn't going to hit cold, hard, unforgiving pavement ever again. Not by falling of a large structure anyway. She had a phobia of heights.

"I'll be with you the whole time. You have nothing to worry about." Kowalski said confidently. He wasn't going to let her fall. She told him about her last run in with heights. And he had to admit that hitting pavement and almost dying was a reason to be afraid. But it was one time. And he wasn't going to let her fall. He would catch her if she did anyway.

"I don't care. You're not bringing me up there." Kiki replied fiercely. She wasn't going into that building. And Kowalski couldn't make her.

"I could make you go in." Kowalski taunted.

"Oh yeah?" Kiki challenged. "Prove it."

Kowalski grabbed her glasses and held them away from her.

Everything instantly went blurry. She couldn't see anything. Everything was a giant pool of un organized colors and blobs that should be shapes. Sparks that should be lights. "Hey! No fair I need those!" She cried. She did. She was basically blind without them.

"Then come with me to the top." Kowalski negotiated. He hated to do it this way, but he had to prove she was wrong. He had to help her get over her fear of heights. And she challenged him. She told him to prove that he could make her go into the building. So he was going to.

"Kowalski." She whined. She didn't want to go all the way to the top.

"Kiki, it's not as bad as you think. It really is a beautiful sight. You'll like it. I'm 89.99 percent sure." Kowalski reassure.

Kiki stopped reaching for her glasses and thought about that. 89.99. She thought she had heard him wrong. 89.99 percent? Shouldn't it be 99.99? "What's the other 10.01 percent?" She asked confused.

"Well. 5 percent is that you will get up grab your glasses and go straight back down, the other five percent is you'll find a way to get your glasses and not go all the way up. And the other 0.01 percent is you pushing me off the top of the building." Kowalski explained.

Kiki thought about that. The first two were understandable. But the last one was just insulting. "Why would I push up off?" She asked defensively.

"Anger, mostly." Kowalski replied.

"If I agree to go up, can I have my glasses?" Kiki asked caving in. she had to see where she was going. She didn't like the blurriness of her lousy vision.

"Only if you promise to follow me up." Kowalski countered. She wasn't getting out of this. She wouldn't regret it either. Kowalski knew it. Kiki had to break her fear of heights.

"I promise." She replied crossing her heart. She hoped he knew that she wasn't going to let go of him when they got to the top. Because she wasn't.

"Good." Kowalski handed Kiki her glasses and smiled.

She looked at him with a worried expression on her face. She was worried. What if one of them fell off? Whet if the tower fell? What if they got caught? What if they were blown off? What if…

Kowalski reached out his hand for her to take. He didn't want her to be so worried. She needed to understand that he wasn't going to let anything bad happen while they were up there. She needed to know that she would be safe. That he would keep her safe.

Kiki gave him a weary smile and took his hand. He was going to protect her. He wasn't going to let her fall. She took a deep breath and followed him into the building.

The main lobby looked like it was made entirely out of some sort of marble. Or maybe it was granite. The dim lighting of the room made the marble look gold in color. The walls were a solid color. Maybe they were gray, but with the lighting they looked gold. The main lobby looked more like a wide hallway. It was a long room. Toward the back of the room was a desk. It looked to be made out of marble as well. Or maybe it was a whole different type of rock all together. But it looked like marble. Or granite. The desk had a black computer resting on it. It also had stacks of paper. The computer was on one corner of the desk and the stacks of paper were on the other. In the middle of the desk was the head of a sleeping guard. He looked more like a police man though. He was wearing a dark blue, long sleeve shirt with a black tie and a black police mans hat. Towards the back of the hallway-like lobby, but before the desk, were two flags that hung on either side of the room. These were of course U.S. flags. There were two elevators on either side of the desk and two hallways to the left and right sides of the desk right before the elevators. And right before the hallways were two doors.

Kowalski led Kiki to one of the elevators and jumped up to push the 'up' button. The doors immediately opened and they loaded onto the elevator. Then he pushed the button to the top floor.

And they waited.

Kiki felt the knots in her stomach grow worse and worse as they went further and further up. She had never been on a tall structure after her date with death. She never wanted to. She was always too scared to. But underneath the knots that kept getting tighter in her stomach, she was grateful. She was grateful that Kowalski was doing this. Even if he made her. Even if he would've picked her up and carried her. He never said so, but Kiki knew he would've. Because he wanted to break her out of her shell. He wanted to break her fear of heights. And she had been waiting for someone to help her with that. Because she could've never broken that fear on her own. And she couldn't think of anyone she would rather have helping her than Kowalski. She had tried. But she just couldn't name one person she would rather hang onto when they reached the top.

Kowalski was a little nervous himself. As they rode the elevator to the top of the building he wondered if he was right at all. If he was right about breaking her fear this way. If he was right about him being able to catch her if she slipped and fell. What if he couldn't catch her in time? What if she died because of him? He didn't have very good reflexes. Although, he was getting better. So maybe she really would be safe with him. Maybe he was just being a worry wart. He looked over at her. She looked nervous. Very nervous. So he couldn't be nervous. He had to be the one to calm her down. He had to be there for her. He could be nervous later on. He needed to stop second guessing himself and save it for later. He needed to get a grip before they reached the top. He took a silent deep breath, letting all of his nervous feeling away as he breathed out.

Kowalski felt pressure around his hand increasing as they drew closer to the top. He looked down at his flipper. Kiki was holding onto it. And as the top of the tower grew closer, she was slowly tightening her grasp. She was also shaking slightly. Her fear of heights was almost unbearable. He cold tell. Her eyes were tightly closed as well. Like she didn't want to look and see how high they were when they reached the top.

Kiki had to remind herself over and over again that Kowalski wouldn't let anything happen to her. Because he liked her. He loved her. She could feel it. She could feel it in the way he held her flipper just a little loser than she held his. Reminding her that he wasn't going to let anything, not one bad thing, happen while they were up there. Calming her down better than anyone else could have done.

A few minutes later the elevator stopped, dinged, and opened its doors.

Kowalski had to lead Kiki out. She was still closing her eyes. He led her out of the elevator and into the lookout dock. The lookout dock was one of the inward ledges of the Empire State Building. It surrounded a dinner type place. It was a place where people could look out on the city from inside.

On the deck were a bunch of those supper sized binoculars that were mounted to the floor and required money to work. A fence surrounded the whole area. So you can't fall off. The whole thing was otherwise made of concrete.

Kowalski had been to the Empire State Building a few times before on recon duty. During one of his assignments, he found a room at the back of the kitchen area inside the restaurant that held what looked to be a small elevator shaft. Only one human would be able to fit in this tiny elevator. If there was one. He hadn't explored it because he didn't know where it went. But now was a good time to find out. He and Kiki could use the tiny elevator, if there was one, to get further up. To see more. She could wait inside the restaurant-type area while he explored the elevator shaft. So she could calm herself down slightly. Because she was shaking quite violently now, as they walked across the cold cement.

Kiki didn't dare open her eyes. She didn't want to see how far up they were. She didn't want to look. She might faint. And then she would die. And that was not a pleasant thought. So she kept her eyes closed and let her body shake. She was terrified. She remembered how much she had thought about her death when she was falling the last time. She remembered how fast she fell. She remembered the vets saying how she should've died. She remembered how terrifying the fall was. And she didn't want to go through it again. But she didn't want to be afraid anymore. She wanted to be able to learn how to catch herself. But she couldn't learn if she was too afraid to climb up high enough. So really, she kept her eyes closed because she felt conflicted.

Kowalski led her through the door to the restaurant, into the kitchen, and through the door of the room to the elevator shaft. He couldn't let go of her flipper so he had to open the doors with his other flipper. The doors seemed so much lighter when he could use both flippers. He pulled her inside and let the door close behind them. There was a motion sensitive light that went on when they entered.

The room was made of solid concrete. Everything, the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, was the same dull, tan-ish color. Hung on the walls were black racks that held various items. There were extension cords, fireman suits, fire extinguishers, ropes, flashlights, and other items.

Straight across the entrance door was the door to the elevator shaft. To open the door Kowalski would need both hands. This would require Kiki to let go. And of course, this would be somewhat difficult.

"Kiki. You can um, open your eyes now." Kowalski said calmly. He needed his other flipper to open the door.

"Ar-are we there?" Kiki asked nervously. Se wasn't ready to open her eyes. She was still contemplating weather or not she should open them at all.

"Technically, yes. But we're not where I want to be yet." Kowalski replied. The last thing that they had to do was get up through the elevator shaft. Then they would hopefully be where he wanted them to be.

"We're not?" She asked curiously. But she still sounded nervous.

"No. But I'm going to need my flipper back if we're going to get there." Kowalski explained calmly. He wanted to help her calm down. But he knew she would never fully be calm. Not until they got settled on top anyway.

"Oh," She said shyly letting go of hid flipper. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. You can have it back in a minute." Kowalski said reassuringly. She didn't have to be sorry. She seemed to say that a lot. Like Private. Only a little less than Private did. "But you could open your eyes. We're not outside." He added.

Kiki opened her eyes. They weren't outside. They were in a concrete room with many objects hanging on the walls. But it was still cold. She watched him pull at the door in front of them. When it opened it revealed a small elevator. It looked like an elevator that they would have at construction sites. It looked old.

Kowalski didn't expect to see and actual elevator. Someone must've been using it when he was there last time. The elevator wasn't a closed structure. It looked more like and orange cage with a wooden floor. The back of the elevator had a wheal. Not like a cars weal. A pulley weal. A crank weal. It looked like the real on a fishing rod. That meant only one thing. Kowalski would have to crank the crank weal thing to go up. He would have to work. That was okay by him. As long as they didn't have to go too far up.

He turned around to Kiki and smiled. "We're going to have to use this to get up further." He said.

"We're going higher?" Kiki asked nervously. She didn't like the thought of that.

Kowalski sighed. "I'll be with you the entire time. Don't worry. You'll be safe." He said reassuringly. He really didn't want her to be afraid. He didn't like seeing her so nervous.

Kiki stared at him unknowingly. Nervously. She didn't know if she really wanted to go further up.

She looked sad to Kowalski. And he didn't want her to look so sad anymore. So he decided to play a very old card. "You know, you're much prettier when you smile." He stated calmly. It was more of a Romantic calm voice, though. He smiled at her.

Kiki smiled back. He pulled an old trick. But the trick didn't lose any of its magic. She looked away, blushing. Kowalski really didn't seem it, but he was turning out to be quite the romance. Not obvious romance. But Kiki could feel it. Like a vibe. He may not be doing anything romantic now. But Kiki could sense it coming. Maybe he knew how to wait. Or maybe he had already figured out that she wanted him to wait. Wait until they knew each other just a little bit better. Just a little.

"See. You look better with that smile." Kowalski said happily, but softly.

Kiki looked at him, still smiling. She couldn't help it. It was the final click. Like wires connecting in her head. She couldn't help smiling because of him. Because he made her…happy. Because he liked her, lover her. For her. Because he was good at letting her know. But not making it obvious. Because he was smart. Because he was…him. A mix of several different things. He was a gentleman to start. But he was also smart, friendly, he cared for once. He was a boy who actually knew how to love her without being told. And he didn't even know her very well. She had a feeling that she would know him as well as his friends did by the end of the night. Well technically it was morning. But it was still dark enough to be called night. He would also know her by the end of their time together. Hopefully.

"Come on." He said, walking into the small elevator and motioning for her to follow. He was sounding awkwardly romantic. He noticed that as she followed him into the elevator. This might be fun. Or interesting. Either way worked for him.

Kiki followed Kowalski into the elevator. All of a sudden she wasn't afraid anymore. All of a sudden she felt safe. Completely and utterly safe. She had heard a human say something about that once. When you fall in love you feel safer. But Kiki never believed so. Maybe she was wrong.

Kowalski grabbed the crank and started turning it. The old-style elevator jerked upward. It nearly knocked him down. Kiki grabbed onto him to prevent herself from falling. She grabbed his shoulder. He had grabbed the crank tighter to hold them up. "Sorry about that." He said apologetically. He didn't expect that. Maybe this wasn't an old time elevator. Maybe this was the way it was built. But then why the pulley system? Kowalski didn't ponder the thought. He started to turn the crank again, being more careful this time. After they were going upward steadily, he started to turn the crank faster. Like how a car gets faster.

Kowalski wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.

Kiki was. After a few minutes they came out of the building and were instead going up through a cage like structure. It went up several more feet before entering another closed structure. It was a lot like the Eiffel tower in Paris. But it was straighter, more box like. A very tall, high up box. She screamed out of fear and grabbed onto Kowalski. She felt all of the knots return to her stomach with two times the intensity that they had before. She held onto Kowalski like her life depended on it. It probably did.

Kowalski looked around. They were in a partial open area. Is mind rushed to the image of the Eiffel tower. Only this was a more box like structure. The corners were thicker and it didn't become smaller as it went up. The whole structure was the same width and length all the way up. And that was why Kiki screamed. They were very, **very **high up. He was sure they could see a little part of New Jersey from here. But they were extremely high up. He looked at Kiki. She was shivering again wither eyes tightly closed, holding his should very tightly. She actually had her arms wrapped around his entire upper arm. He continued to turn the crank. He was going as fast as he could, and his arms were getting tired. But he wasn't going to stop until they were inside a closed structure again.

But he couldn't ignore her. She was hugging his arm so tightly that he was losing the feeling in his entire arm. And the whole side of his body was vibrating from how hard she was shaking. She was really afraid of heights. Having her open he eyes again would be very difficult. Very, very difficult.

After a few more minutes of cranking, they were once again inside a closed structure. They elevator jerked to a stop and they were facing another door.

Kowalski walked over, not even attempting to remove Kiki from his arm, and pushed the door open. But there wasn't another room. There was open space. Only a disk like structure was on the other side of the door. Kowalski walked out, still having Kiki hang onto his arm for her life. He walked close to the edge and stopped. The floor was solid. It didn't weaver in the wind. And it was a perfect circle. But there was no fence. There was nothing to protect them from falling off. But the floor was rough. Its rough surface would create friction, helping them stay up and not fall off.

Now he had to make Kiki calm down and open her eyes.

He walked back to the front of the elevators door. "Open your eyes." Kowalski commanded calmly.

"Nope." Kiki replied defiantly. There was no way in hell she was opening her eyes. This was a bad idea. Confliction solved. She wanted her feet to be on the ground. The solid ground, many miles downward.

"Kiki, it's not scary." Kowalski reassured. Okay maybe he lied. It would be terrifying to someone who had a really bad phobia of heights. Someone like Kiki.

"N-O." She replied. She was not going to open her eyes.

"Kiki, if you don't open your eyes then I'll do it for you." Kowalski offered. He was threatening, but he sounded like he was offering. He didn't want to waste more time arguing and trying to open her eyes.

"Nope, Nah ah, not happening." She argued. She knew how high up she was. She wasn't stupid. She knew. And it petrified her. She was not going to open her eyes.

"Please. You know you want to." Kowalski said. It was a lousy attempt. But he had to play every card he had.

"No I don't. We had a deal. You gave me my glasses back, and I came up here. There was no part on opening eyes." She stated factually.

Kowalski sighed. He only had one more option. Description. And guilt. He could always try to guilt her into it. But someone like her would know better. So he tried description first. He pried her off his shoulder and walked towards the edge of the disk like platform. "We'll, I was hoping I could get you to open your eyes. I didn't want you to miss out on the view. All the lights sparkling like a million stars below, clear skies, it really looks like the horizon is sandwiched between stars. You can barely hear the sounds of the city up here. It's the perfect place to get rid of that height phobia of yours. I'd think you'd like the moon, just as bright as the stars that surround it. You don't get the glare from the city up here. Well not all of it I should say. It still blocks out the dimmer stars. But you would never notice. If you opened your eyes you'd be able to see it. The buildings that surround this one but don't get as high. They don't get the good view. The many colorful lights of the city below, and the calm color of the sky above. You may never get this chance again you know. It's the best seat in the house. One time offer." He finished calmly. He liked the view. He didn't even have to try very hard to paint it for her. He really wished she would open her eyes. So he could share the view with her. Carve a nice moment in her memory. And his too. It was a beautiful night. Why not share it with a beautiful, nice, intelligent, loving girl?

Kiki heard him. She liked stars. She liked the way they shined at night. She liked seeing many things. All at once. She liked peace and calmness. She liked…what he had just described to her. She liked that picture. And she loved how his voice gave him away. He wanted to share this view with her. He wanted her to be able to come up here and share this view with him. And by one time offer he meant, the shies are never this clear at night. The wind was never so calm up here. And it may never be again. And she wanted to see it. But she was too scared. He said he wanted to get rid of her phobia. _Ding. Stupid. He's up here for you. And what are you doing? You're standing here like a moron. A big, selfishly scared moron. And he's up here. Mr. charming is standing there trying with all his heart to make your eyes open and you're denying him. He's up here for you. Because he loves you. _Kiki told herself. She hung her head shamefully. He was up here for her. And she wasn't cooperating. Because she was scared. Maybe he was too.

Kiki picked her head up. He was here for her. She could use that. For both of them. "Um… Kowalski? Could-could you come o-over here for a minute?" She asked nervously. She was going to open her eyes. But she wasn't going to do it with a whole city in front of her. There was a specific way that this was to be done.

Kowalski didn't know what Kiki wanted him for. She probably wanted to go back down. Or maybe he convinced her to open her eyes. Maybe she just wanted something to hold onto. "Ok." He replied calmly. He had kept the same sense of calmness for a while now. Maybe some of it was finally rubbing off on Kiki. He walked over to her.

She reached out her hand hoping to touch him. So she knew where he was. She was grateful when she touched his shoulder. She reminded herself that Kowalski was a nice guy. Of course he would stand in front of her. She traced his arm down to his flipper and grabbed it. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Kowalski was there. He was there. Nothing was going to happen. She had to remind herself of that.

Kowalski had to admit it, He liked being close to her. He felt a sense of warmth when he was around her. And the way she traced his arm down to the tip of his flipper felt, strangely ok. Maybe it was because he knew she just did that because she couldn't see and just wanted to hold his flipper. But he would expect some sort of awkward feeling to come with that. And although he wasn't scared and didn't feel nervous about anything, he had butterflies in his stomach. He didn't know what to make of that.

Kiki had butterflies too. But she felt calmer. Suddenly she wasn't so scared. She felt warmer too. But she was still scared and nervous. She felt a million things. One was fear, another was nervousness, and another…couldn't be named. She didn't know what she felt. It wasn't calm, or was it? Maybe she just felt less scared. Maybe it was love. But if it was, it wasn't the obvious feeling of love. She didn't feel a pull to him. Or did she? Was that the third feeling? Love? She never felt love before. Maybe that was what she was feeling now. Maybe that was why she didn't recognize it. She played Nicky's voice in her mind. _Turn that overstuffed brain of yours off for once._ It said. Maybe, she could actually listen to it this time. Maybe that was how she had to do this. Because if she turned off her brain, metaphorically that is, then she would stop worrying about the bad, and cherish the good. Yes! That was how she was going to do it. That and Pull Kowalski in front of way. So she didn't have to see the city right away.

She reached her other flipper forward, not towards his shoulder this time, but towards his flipper. So she could hold both of them. He was standing right in front of her, so his flipper was there. As soon as she hand both of his flippers in hers, she felt warm. She wasn't cold or anything, but she felt… different. Calmer. The butterflies almost disappeared. She wasn't nervous about height anymore. Now it was something else. It was him. She was nervous about him. Was she freaking him out right now? Did he really like her? Really?

Kowalski felt the same way. Now he knew what the butterflies were for. He didn't want to disappoint her. He wanted her to have a good time. Or at least a good memory. He wanted her to be happy. And now he wasn't so sure about this. Maybe she would hate this. Maybe he had done the wrong thing and she would hate him forever. But he also figured out why she did what she did. She wanted him to block out the view of the city. So she had her eyes open before she saw the city. So he moved so that he was between her and the city. And he felt the same confusing third feeling. Nervousness, he still had a little feeling of calmness. But what was the third thing he felt? The feeling that made him feel so warm as she held his flippers? What was it? It was only around her. He liked her. Or did he? Maybe he didn't like her. Maybe it wasn't a strong likeness. Maybe he loved her. But how was he supposed to know? He never loved anyone before. He never felt love before. Not this kind. But could the third unknown feeling be love?

Kiki took another deep breath. A couple of them actually. Then, looking straight ahead, holding tightly onto his flippers, he holding hers, she opened her eyes. She was right about one thing. He was slightly taller than her. She had to look up slightly to stare into his bright blue eyes. They were filled with something. Love. They were shining bright with love. And he was smiling at her. Lovingly. Charmingly. In such a way that,…everything else faded into the back round. She didn't notice the black sky out of the corner of her eyes. She could only notice him. And how loving he looked. And realize that all of that love was for her. She wouldn't be able to know, but as she smiled back, she hoped that she could tell him how much she loved him already just by looking at him. The way he did for her. His smiled grew as she smiled back. So she must be telling him.

Kowalski was glad her eyes were open. He was happy to see her eyes, beautifully green, and shining. They were glistening. Brighter than the stars the surrounded them, and the lights below. Lovely. And that's what they held. Love. Brilliant, loving eyes that seemed to shine through the dull black that surrounded them. Bright green eyes that shined. That belonged to a beautiful girl. He didn't deserve her. She was smart, nice, and beautiful. He didn't deserve that. Maybe he wasn't good enough. She deserved someone better. He left that thought for when he knew her a little bit better.

"Are you ready?" He asked softly. He would lead her to the edge whenever she was ready.

Kiki's smile grew. "Yes. I would like to think so." She replied calmly. It was the first time she felt calm while she was here.

"Then come sit with me." Kowalski said. He liked where this was going. She would like it. The view. She would like it.

"Lead the way." Kiki replied.

Kowalski moved out of her way. She could see everything. It was beautiful. The sky was dotted by a million stars that shined brighter than the lights that came from below. And the moon was their king. Shining the brightest. The night sky was so clear. There wasn't a single cloud to be seen. It was a very beautiful sight. When Kowalski had gotten her close to the edge he stopped. She looked out on the city. It was a big city. And a jumble of lights. Although, the lights did show figures. Those figures were probably the buildings. All the buildings, every one, was lit up. Maybe not with signs but the lights. Most of the lights were yellow. The further away they went the more orange they looked though. These lights went on into the horizon. Kowalski was right. The horizon was sandwiched between lights. But the city held most of the lights. Some of which were blue or red. She didn't know what to think. Looking out on the city, and being able to look up at the starry ski was just…captivating. It was amazing, magical. She was glad she opened her eyes. A picture of this wouldn't even come close to what it was like to see the view in person. And it was quiet. Peaceful. Perfect.

Kowalski smiled at the look of amazement on Kiki's face. He was happy that she liked the view. He knew she would like it. And he felt foolish for second guessing himself. Of course he would be able to make her happy up here. It was totally quiet. She seemed to like that. He liked it too. Living in a zoo in NYC, peace and quiet was hard to come by. So this, being up here was a nice change of scene. It was peaceful for both of them. Kowalski liked the quiet. He like calmness.

"Kowalski." Kiki said in awe. "It's…it's…it's, beautiful. It's, it's amazing." She turned to him. "I love it." She said. She smiled at him. He was the reason she was standing here. He was the reason she had her eyes open, taking in this amazing view. It was all because of him. And she would never be able to repay him for what he has just done for her.

Kowalski sat down and patted the ground beside him, motioning for Kiki to sit down next to him.

She did. They sat with their feet dangling off the edge. And she wasn't scared. Because as soon as she settled Kowalski took her flipper. He knew. She was glad that he knew. That meant he understood.

After staring out on the city, Kowalski started a conversation. A conversation that would dig deeper than either one could ever predict.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"Think about what?" Kiki asked confused.

"Many things. But mostly this." Kowalski replied.

"Oh...um. I like it. I always wanted peace and quiet. But it only came at night." She explained. "Why do you like it here?" She asked curiously.

"Me?" Kowalski asked, caught off guard. "Um. I like it up here. Especially on nights like this. It's a good place to get a well needed peace." Kowalski replied.

"You don't get a lot of that do you?"

"A lot of what?"

"Peace. You make it sound like you don't"

"I don't. It's. The zoo is in a noisy part of the city. Sleep isn't a problem, but peace and quiet is hard to come by. Especially with people like Julian."

"You don't like him?"

"No. it's not that I don't like him. He just,… needs to learn how to be calm. How to be quiet."

"Oh I see. You tolerate him."

"No." Kowalski replied defensively. "I wouldn't call him a friend, more of an acquaintance."

"Sounds more like annoyance to me." Kiki smiled. He didn't like Julian. That was a fact. He didn't have to hide it.

"Well… he is annoying. What about you? I mean there had to be people you didn't like down in Florida." Kowalski replied calmly.

Kiki looked down. She didn't like thinking about the aquarium in Florida.

"Or did you not like anyone?" Kowalski asked calmly. He saw it. He had hit something. She didn't like her old home.

"You would be right there. They were all boys. We were the only girls and…and, they treated us like garbage. They made fun of us. They just didn't like us. They called me a giant and ran away like they were afraid that if I stepped on them they would become pancakes. They made fun of Cassy. Called her a baby, miniscule. Shorty. Itsy bitsy. Cassy is a gently sole. A fragile sole. They paid no mind to how much they hurt her. Or me. They left Destiny alone. But they harassed Nicky. They called her a boy because of her name. They made fun of us. And when Destiny wasn't looking they pushed us around. Like a gang would do to wimps. Forming circle around and just pushing us back and forth. So when I saw four boys…I thought it was going to be like that. But turns out I was wrong. Even Skipper, who seemed very dangerous at the time, didn't hurt us at all." Kiki explained. She didn't like thinking about the aquarium in Florida. She hoped Kowalski would drop it.

"Yeah well you'll see that. Skipper doesn't hurt people unless they're becoming hazardous. And he can come very close to beating you to a pulp. But he doesn't. He won't even hit you if he feels himself losing his temper. Usually… he's just stressed." Kowalski replied. He could sense it. She didn't want to talk about Florida anymore.

"Stressed about what?" Kiki asked curiously.

"Well. He's the only one who can solve the problems that pop up daily in the zoo. He's a lot smarter than people gives him credit for. Than he gives himself credit for. You haven't seen any of it yet. The problems usually come to a halt around the holidays. It's like an unofficial agreement. Holidays are good times. Fighting isn't something good. Not around the holidays. But secretly, I don't know if it's true. Or if they care enough to do so. But I just think they give Skipper a break. He doesn't like mushy things. He'll except apologies. And a thank you. But not a lot of them. And he deserves some sort of a thank you. But that might be my imagination" Kowalski explained.

"Do you worry about him?" Kiki asked. He seemed to be a little distraught talking about him.

"Yes. Truth be told I do. Private is right. He needs to sleep more. And understood." Kowalski replied.

"They don't understand him do they?" Kiki asked assumingly.

"I don't think so. Skipper is different. The first time you meet him you'd think he was a lunatic. But if you give him a chance, he's a lot more than a lunatic. The problem is. No one gives him a chance." Kowalski said. He didn't like it. Skipper was different. But he was a good friend. He knew how to let you have fun. He knew how to understand. But no one knew how to understand him. And it was sad. He, Private, and Rico, and Marlene sort of, were the only ones who understood him. What was good was the fact that, that was enough for him. He didn't need anyone else to understand him. Or so it seemed that way.

"What about you? Do people understand you?" Kiki asked.

"I like to think so. But sometimes I think they think I'm a freak." Kowalski replied.

"Really? I wouldn't think so. You're just smart. And to some people, that's enough to call you a freak." Kiki stated.

"You don't think I'm a freak?" Kowalski asked.

"No. But if you're a freak. Then I would have to be one too." Kiki said.

"Why would you have to be a freak?" Kowalski asked.

"Because. I'm smarter than you." Kiki joked.

"Of course you are. You're the girl. And the girl is always right. And to be right you must be smarter than he who is wrong." Kowalski replied.

"Ah. So you are a smart boy." Kiki laughed. "I'm fine with you proving me wrong. If I'm wrong I'm wrong." She explained.

"I knew that." Kowalski replied.

"Of course you did. Who are you?" Kiki asked.

"What? I'm Kowalski" Kowalski replied confused.

"No. I mean who is Kowalski?" She asked.

"Kowalski is… Kowalski?" Kowalski replied, still confused.

"Tell me ten things about Kowalski. And I will tell you ten things about Kiki." Kiki said. She wanted to know more about him.

"Oh um…Kowalski is smart? I guess. Um... He likes making things, most of which blow up or turn out to be disastrous. Kowalski is not a good fighter. He's ok, but there are better fighters than him. Kowalski is usually the one who plays with wires and buttons. Kowalski secretly likes music, don't tell anyone that. Kowalski likes looking out at things, but not as much as his friend Skipper. Kowalski blows himself up a lot. Kowalski likes to think he is friendly. Kowalski can play musical instruments. Kowalski likes pina colladas. There ten things" Kowalski said.

"You like an alcoholic drink?" Kiki asked.

"No. There's no alcohol in it." Kowalski replied. "It's un alcoholic."

"Ah. That makes sense. Kowalski does not seem like a boy who would drink alcohol. But Kiki is liking the musical part of Kowalski. She will have to look into that." She smiled at him.

He smiled back. He knew she liked music. He knew she would like the music part. And it was true. "Your turn.

"Nope. Kowalski said it wrong." Kiki replied.

"Kiki's turn." He laughed. It was weird. But fun.

"Well. Kiki likes music. All types except rap. Kiki is not a fan of rap. Kiki can also play musical instruments. Kiki liked playing with wires and putting things together. Kiki liked being treated like a living thing. Kiki likes the stars and the moon. Kiki likes the sky at night. Kiki can surf. Kiki can climb. She likes snow. And she now likes heights." Kiki finished calmly.

"Kowalski can surf to. But sharks do not like it when he surfs." Kowalski said. "And Kowalski is confused at why he is talking like this."

"Kowalski thinks its fun." Kiki replied.

"He thinks Kiki thinks its fun"

"Kiki does not."

"Kowalski wants to talk in first person again. Because. He just wants to."

"Fine. Kiki and Kowalski will talk in first person again.

"Well. That was… different." Kowalski stated.

Kiki laughed. "It was fun."

"Snow?" He asked.

Kiki shrugged. "Needed something." She said.

There was a short period of silence.

"Do you feel different?" Kowalski asked. He was wondering if she felt the same way he did.

"Different how?" Kiki asked confused. She almost though she knew what he meant. But didn't quite understand the question.

"Like a feeling. A new one." Kowalski replied.

"Are you asking me if I feel something unusual?" Kiki asked. She knew what he was talking about now.

"No. Well yes. Do you?"

"The warm, calm feeling? The feeling of belonging? The fuzzy feeling? That one?" Kiki asked.

"That would be the one." Kowalski replied.

"I think I can attach a name to that feeling." Kiki stated calmly.

"I think I can too." Kowalski replied.

"Is it a word of affection?" Kiki asked calmly.

"Yes."

"Love." Kiki said softly. She could feel it. Whether she knew him really well or not.

"Yes." He swallowed. "I don't know what it is. But I feel warmer around you. Even if I'm not cold. I feel happier around you. And calmer around you. I think, and I know I've said this before, I think it's because I love you. Only it's not a question anymore. It's fact." Kowalski explained, calmly

Kiki laughed nervously. "Well…that would make two of us." She said softly.

She looked up at him and smiled. He looked down and did the same. They didn't have to look to far up or down. There wasn't that much of a height distance.

Kiki hesitantly started to lean towards him. He did the same. They were both nervous about this. But there was a pull that they couldn't resist anymore. So they leaned into each other. And there they kissed. Not tip of beak kissing either. The romantic kind.

After they pulled away from each other they stared into one another's eyes for a few minutes before the conversation continued. Only with softer voices. More loving. More…peaceful.

Kiki told Kowalski some tragic events. Skipping over Destiny's problems with Mark. How she came to the need of glasses. How they wound up at the zoo. She needed glasses because one of Destiny's enemies kidnapped her and did something to her eyes hoping to slow Destiny down. Let's just say it had the opposite effect. Destiny was the one who had found a pair of glasses in a toy store and took them for her. How they got to the zoo was a long story. But she cut it short leaving Calypso out. She didn't like Calypso. Not anymore. Not after what she had done to Destiny. But anyway. They were wondering the streets of Mexico, no one paid any mind to them. There were strays everywhere in the town they were in. she didn't even remember the name of the town. But they were on the brink of starvation when they were caged and sent to the aquarium. It all happened so fast.

Kowalski told her about how they got to the zoo. They found the zoo. Well Skipper did. After Manfredi and Johnson died, Skipper knew he had to take the lead. He was the only one who wasn't afraid. Or he was the one with the least fear. They had walked the streets of New York City for days running from animal catchers and stray dogs. Avoiding danger at all costs. Then they ran into the zoo one time. A stray dog had been chasing them for several blocks. It was a Dutch hound. He chased them right into the zoo. Apparently the zoo had been looking for penguins. They had told Skipper that turning would slow the dog down. But he kept running straight. And he saved them by doing so.

They were both interested, and astounded at the stories. But they didn't dig deeper into them. They decided to dig into other things.

"Why do you like music?" Kiki asked.

"I don't know really. Certain kinds have a nice sound to them. Others have more of a hard sound to them. It's a good way to express emotion." Kowalski replied.

They were looking out on the city as they talked. Some clouds started to appear. But that was far off in the distant sky.

"Music is a window to ones sole and mind." Kiki said calmly. "Not to sound totally crazy or anything." She quickly added realizing how crazed that sounded.

"You don't sound crazy to me." Kowalski replied. "Music is a window to ones sole. It shows feeling and is a good resource of anger management."

Kiki stared at him.

"What?" He asked defensively. "I never needed it. I was just saying."

Kiki laughed. "I know. You don't seem like the angry type. You seem more calm and collected." She complemented.

"Yeah well that's now." Kowalski replied. He remembered when he was younger. Wild carefree, sort of. He remembered jumping through woods and all the fun of running from bad guys.

"And when you were a kid?" Kiki asked curiously.

Kowalski sighed. "I was kind of wild. But that was mostly Skipper. He was a wild child." Kowalski explained.

"You've know him for a long time huh?"

"Yeah. I've know him for a while. Since before Private and Rico came along. Although, if it wasn't for Manfredi and Johnson we would've never met." He explained.

"I'm confused." Kiki stated confused.

"Manfredi and Johnson were traveling with Skipper when they found me. They were sort of older than us. Like you know humans? We were like eight year olds and they were like twenty or twenty one year olds. Does that make sense?"

"It does. They were older than you guys, but not so much older that it was creepy, and not too close in age that they were irresponsible with you guys." Kiki replied.

"Yeah exactly. I don't know where Skipper came from. I don't know anything that happened before I met him. But I do know that Manfredi and Johnson were his family. They were closer than they seemed. For instance, Johnson was the punisher, and Manfredi was the nice easy going one. Johnson could beat Skipper black and blue in the afternoon, but they would be laughing together by the campfire at night." Kowalski explained.

"You never really fit it did you?" Kiki asked assumingly.

"No, I did. But it took time. It seemed like Skipper accepted me first, even though he liked me the least when I first joined in. And we would fight over the unusual things."

"Like..?"

"Like who was to blame. If we one of us did something and Johnson only caught the aftermath or the mess, we would fight over who did it."

Kiki laughed. That was weird. But it showed how Skipper and Kowalski got used to each other real fast. How brother-like they truly were. It was cute funny.

"Yes. Those are the things we mostly fought over." Kowalski laughed. He knew she thought it was cute. And that was why she was laughing. He remembered those times the most. Skipper still had it in him somewhere. Kowalski knew that. But he was more interested in Kiki now.

"So…How did you meet them?" He asked.

"Well I was sort of the last one to join the quartette. Where was it?" Kiki asked herself remembering. "I think it was in Argentina, in South America. Anyway, I was running, or swimming, away from a leopard seal, as all penguins do. It had chased me away from home. And I was beginning to black out when something grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. I had never been through the water so fast before. It was…" She didn't want to talk about her. Calypso. Calypso was a liar. A bandit. A thief. She left them when they needed her the most. She left Destiny, whom she led on the most. Calypso had acted like a sister to Destiny. But it was just an act. Nothing more.

"It was what?" Kowalski asked concerned. She looked upset. More angry than sad though.

Kiki sighed. "Calypso. Calypso saved me. But she's in the past now." Kiki said hatefully. She regretted it though. Because she wasn't mad at him. But she sounded it. She was mad at Calypso. And she tried to forget. She tried to move on. And most of the time she did. But when she remembered. She filled with anger. They needed her. Destiny needed her. And she just left. How could someone be so heartless?

Kowalski could tell Kiki wanted to move on. Or would appreciate it. But he was curious. Who was Calypso? And why was Kiki so angry towards her? But those questions would have to wait. "Do you ever miss them?" Kowalski asked softly, thoughtfully. He missed his family sometimes. They were always there if he needed them. He hoped they were still there for him. "Your family I mean."

Kiki thought about that. She took her mind away from Calypso. She did sometimes miss her family. They were the ones who understood her. They were the ones who had always lover her. No matter what she did, she always had a home. She missed that. "I do." She replied calmly, looking out over the star lit city. She still couldn't get over the view. She wasn't afraid anymore. She was sort of hypnotized by the beauty and massiveness of the city. "They were always the ones that I could count on. Really, really count on. And I always had a home, no matter what I did." Kiki explained softly. She missed having a home where she belonged. Where she could be Kiki and not worry about the thoughts of others. Where she was accepted for who she was. Not that she wasn't accepted at the zoo. She still felt like something was holding her back. Like she wasn't truly happy yet. But she didn't worry too much about that. because she felt it coming. Everyone finds their place. The place where they are happy. Truly honestly happy. Waiting was the hard part.

Kowalski looked at her. She looked upset. Not as much as she did before. But she was still upset. He was too, thinking about family.

"I sometimes wonder if I still have a family."

"You'll always have a family." Kowalski replied confidently. "The people who care about you are part of your family."

Kiki looked up at him.

"The girls are your family. Even Destiny is your family." He explained.

"Destiny doesn't act like my family a lot." Kiki stated.

"You Know, I think that she's only being so difficult to protect you." Kowalski said calmly.

"How can she be protecting me?" Kiki asked. Destiny never really cared. Well it seemed like she did. But Kiki knew she didn't.

"Okay, maybe she's not protecting your life. But did you ever wonder if the reason she doesn't want you to get close to me is because she doesn't want you to get hurt?" Kowalski asked. "Didn't you ever think that she's only doing what she's doing because she doesn't want to see your heart broken?"

Kiki thought about that. She felt guilty. Because he was right. Destiny had looked for affection after Calypso left. It twisted her mind. She was so used to being cared about. So used to knowing that someone cared, that without that someone…she felt alone. Useless, unloved. But while she looked she got hurt. She had found playboys and black hearts, pretenders and heart breakers. And Mark. After Mark she gave up, after Mark she built a wall between herself and boys. After Mark she changed her outlook on the male species. Boys were evil, lying, unloyal, perverted, selfish, lowlifes to her now. They were disgusting slime balls to her. They were heartbreakers. And no one had proven her wrong yet. That was a sad defeat for the male species. But these four might change everything. This was a good thing. Destiny needed someone to show her that she was wrong. Well for some males she hit the nail on the head. But for others…she totally missed. For others, she misjudged. Like Kowalski. "I didn't. I-I think you're right though. But she won't believe us when we tell her that you guys are different." Kiki replied. "She thinks guys can't be trusted. Mostly because of her run ins with other boys. The ones who are selfish and unloving and immature."

"Yes. Those guys paint a bad picture for us. We don't pride ourselves in others pain. We don't hurt girls. We're usually nice to everyone. Except bad people." Kowalski explained.

"If only Destiny could see that. But I believe she'll se it eventually." Kiki said calmly. She did wish Destiny would realize that these guys were the nice kind. Or that there was a nice kind.

Kiki leaned onto Kowalski. She was done talking now. She just wanted to enjoy the view with him. To enjoy the little time they had left.

Kowalski accepted her lean. He put his arm around her and shut up. He got the message. And truthfully, He liked the thought of just enjoying the view. He wanted to share these last minutes with her. Or what ever the amount of time they had left together was. He just wanted to enjoy her company. He just wanted to enjoy the warmth and comfort, the calmness and peace, the silence and belonging. He wanted to make this last.

They both did.

By the bay…..

"So…what are we doing here?" Nicky asked. She wanted to know why they were at Manhattan bay. Or one of the many on Manhattan. They had passes many.

Rico pointed to a tour boat. Only, it looked like a cruise ship. He was going to take her on a cruise around the island. It would be fun.

"Rico. We don't have time for that." Nicky argued. She wanted to go on a cruise. But they only had a few hours. A cruise lasted weeks and months. And if they got on they would have to swim back.

"Nuh uh. Ook." Rico said shaking his head. He pointed to the entrance. Right before you got on the boat was an ark. On the ark was written. _"1:00-4:30"_

Nicky looked. One to four thirty. It was almost too good to be true. She was going on a short cruise around the island. How great was that? She always wanted to go on a cruise. Now was her chance. "Rico it's perfect!" She said happily. She hadn't acted like... such a girl, in a long time. Rico made it fun.

"Yup." Rico said happy to see Nicky so happy. She seemed angry and anything but happy when she got here. And a few days after. But now she was happy. That was good. Private had said once that everyone deserves happiness. Although he wasn't a fan of mushy things like that, Rico had to admit, Private was right. Nicky deserved to be happy. So he was going to make this the best tour cruise of her life.

"Last chance for the eleven to four thirty!" someone shouted. "Eleven to four thirty now leaving port!"

"Oh no." Nicky said disappointed. "We're going to miss it." Playing a girl was fun. She usually didn't care so much. And once tonight was over. She would go back to her old self. Hopefully.

"Nope." Rico replied determined to get them on that boat. He grabbed her hand and ran. They ran under peoples feet and around bags. Without stopping, Rico jumped off the dock and landed on the boat. He of course brought Nicky with him. As soon as they were stable and on the boat, She broke out laughing.

"Rico, that was actually kinda fun." She said smiling.

Rico laughed nervously. Now what? Where was he supposed to take her? Now what was he supposed to do? Whatever it was, he had to figure it out. Fast.

Nicky looked in a nearby window. She wasn't a music freak like Kiki, but she did take a liking to wild dancing. Not slow dancing. Wild dancing. Inside the window were flashing lights. She could hear music, but it was muffled. Even so she knew it was dancy music. It had a wild beat to it. "Hey Rico." She said smiling. "Do you dance?"

Rico stared at her confused. Dance? Yeah right. "Nope." He replied calmly.

"I think I'm gonna teach you." She replied with and evil smile. Rico didn't look like he was a fan of music. Or dancing. Nicky was going to change that. She was determined to.

"Uh oh." Rico gulped. He didn't like where this was going. He wasn't a dancer. It wasn't in his blood. He was the weapons guy. Not the dancing type. He didn't like dancing. He didn't like where this was going. He did not.

She grabbed his flipper and pulled him towards the window. She had to really pull, because Rico was resisting. He tried planting his feet on the ground. But she was able to pull him still. Now he was just trying to pull his arm free. But Nicky wasn't going to let that happed. She had a tight grip. He was learning how to dance tonight. And he was going to have fun. She was sure of it. When he learned he would have fun. And then he won't resist the next time she asked him to dance.

"Nope. Nope." Rico pleaded pulling way. But he couldn't break free. Nicky had a stronger flipper than he thought.

They jumped in the window and looked around. It was a pretty cool room. The floor was made of multicolored tiled the lit up with the beat of the music. The ceilings and walls had tubes running in and out of them. In these tubes was a liquid. It also changed color with the music. There was a table with punch and fruit and snacks. There was also a disco ball that was shooting out light. It was like a lightshow and a dance floor collided and made a lightshow dance floor.

No one screamed when they entered because there were little people dancing in animal suits. They were all over the place. There had to be at least twenty other little animals running around.

"That's weird." Nicky commented. These people must be desperate. Or just awesome. It took guts to run around like children in animal suits. It was also pretty cool. If she were human, Kiki would do that. Nicky had a feeling Kiki would. She thought about all of this. Kiki would've loved this. If people didn't know who she was and no one could see her face then she would do anything. As long as it had a lot of music involved. She didn't let go of Rico though. He wasn't getting off that easily.

Rico thought it was weird too. It wasn't every day that you saw dwarves running around in little animal costumes. That was really a weird stroke of good luck. They fit right in now. "Yup." He agreed. It was weird all right.

Nicky thought for a moment. She had planned on getting to know him better. But now, she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to have fun. She wanted both of them to have fun. They could learn secrets next time. Besides, she wasn't in the mood for the sharing of secrets. She was in a wilder mood. "Let's just have fun tonight." She said. "We can talk some other time."

"Ok." Rico replied. He didn't mind that. He wasn't much of a talker anyway. And just having fun all night sounded well, fun. He still didn't want to dance though. He didn't want to look like a fool.

Nick pulled Rico out onto the dance floor. He didn't try to pull away. He agreed to have fun. And maybe he wasn't as bad a dancer as he predicted. He had danced before. He realized that he was afraid of making Nicky think that he was a class one freak. He would have to wait and see. And take a few chances.

They danced for two hours. And had fun doing so. They left the dance floor when all of the little people in animal costumes started to leave.

"Ya know." Nicky said catching her breath. "You're a good dancer."

"Aw, oo too." Rico replied. So it wasn't a total train wreck. That was a good thing.

She laughed and smiled at him. She didn't know why she felt so giddy. But she did. And there seemed to be nothing that she could do about it.

Rico grabbed Nicky's flipper and pulled her around the ship. He was looking for a staircase. Nicky didn't seem to mind. She was laughing the whole time. They ran under tables and chairs in the dining are, jumped over bags and ran under benches at the resting areas, and ran around feet. Well he ran, Nicky seemed to be stumbling behind him. He was pulling her. But she didn't fall.

He eventually found stairs and shot up them, dragging Nicky up with him. She was still laughing. He took her to the highest point on the ship. The top front deck.

Nicky hadn't ever been pulled before. She didn't know why she was laughing. It was better than nothing, though. And she hadn't minded being pulled. Mostly because of what she was looking at now. Calming herself down, and catching her breath, she stared out on the ocean. It reflected the clear night sky beautifully. It was so calm too. The waves were, not there. They were riding on still waters. What she was captivated most by, was the way the ocean merged with the night sky. it faded into blackness. Nothing. But she knew there were more waters out there. The still waters, the clear night sky, and the way the water and the sky came together and faded into nothing but blackness, portrayed complete calmness. Some people would be afraid of that. Staring off into nothing but blackness. But that made Nicky calm. Not peoples fear. What she was looking at. It was an amazing picture.

"Rico, I- This is amazing." She said in awe. "I love it."

Rico stood next to her. He was glad she liked it. It was a nice view. He didn't expect it though. He didn't realize how clear the sky was. It made the view better. More calm. "Ey ople dow." He said calmly. (I hoped so)

She looked at him and smiled. "Your hopes were fulfilled then." She said softly. She felt tired, but calm. She hadn't felt so calm in a long time. She was always looking out for Kiki. She didn't regret it. Kiki was her friend. And she looked out for her voluntarily. But it was like always having one eye open. That didn't leave much time for calmness. So she was enjoying the time she had with Rico. Besides, Kiki had Kowalski with her. What could go wrong. Nothing. She had Rico, Cassy had Private, and Kiki had Kowalski. Everything was perfect.

Rico grabbed her flipper. Her feathers felt so soft. Smooth. He smiled back at her. Who needs words? He couldn't talk right anyway.

They looked back out at the endless sea.

Nicky leaned onto Rico. The world of reality faded away. It was erased from her mind. Like a rubber eraser came and whipped it all away. It was just her and Rico. She never felt so, warm and peaceful in her entire life. She didn't grow up around it. She didn't know what it was at first. But after standing there, with Rico, for a while she figured it out. She didn't have to look out for anyone. She could lower her guard. She felt loved. For once in her life, she felt truly, completely loved. It was the best feeling that she had ever felt. The first feeling that she didn't want to let go of. She could do without fear, and focus, and being alert. She could live without anger and fire. But she didn't want to live without this. Peace, warmth, love.

Rico had felt love before. Of course he had also felt heart ache. No one could get passed his speech problem. Well no girl could. Except Marlene. But no girl had ever…loved him. Not like this. He had never felt this way before. And he didn't know why he had to wait so long to feel it. So peaceful, so warm. Maybe, you really do need to wait. Maybe good things don't come to those who wait. Great things did. You could get good things right away. But great things. Those you had to wait for. This was better than great. It was perfect.

None of the six were fans of romance. But, they were sinking into it. It was a pull. A constant force that was pulling them deeper into the chasm of love. That was taking them for a ride. None of them knew how dangerous, terrifying, and death defying that ride was going to be. They didn't know how calm and peaceful it would be. Or how fun it was going to be. But that's the thing with rides. You never know what it's like unless you ride it. And as these lovers are bound to find out, love is one of the toughest rides on earth. But it's one of the best.

_**Sorry for the mush. But it's the truth. Well in this story it is. Anyway, I apologize for the length. Didn't intend on it being this long. Oh! One more thing. The action will be picking up shortly. Out of mush and into fire! Mwahahaha!. ):D O_O **_


	20. Not hate, fear

He watched them separate from the clock tower. In three different directions. He almost knew exactly where they were going. But he wasn't sure. He didn't try too hard to guess either. It was none of his business. Hey could go wherever they wanted to. They knew to stay out of trouble. And they knew that they had to be back before five am. He wasn't worried about them. He felt calm. Almost too calm. He thought he should feel concerned. More curious too. But he didn't. He felt like something bad was going to happen though. Not to them, but to himself. And he had a very bad feeling that it would involve Destiny. He hoped he was wrong.

Destiny didn't know what woke her up. And she didn't know why she didn't wake up sooner. She looked around. She was the only one in the HQ. That meant one and only one thing. They were out with those boys. She told them not to. She warned them. And they still liked those boys. They snuck out with them. They were blind! Crazy. Boys can't, cannot, under no circumstance, be trusted. Why did have to challenge that? Why did they have to find out the hard way? Why did their hearts have to break first? She knew she should've felt sad. Or at least some sort of fear for them. But she felt angry. Because Skipper was gone too. He let this happen. And he was going to get it.

She jumped out of the habitat and looked around. He was on top of the clock tower. Just sitting there, she hadn't seen him sleep. Maybe he wasn't real. A robot or a clone. He was dangerous. And if he was a clone or robot then he needed to be taken out. Eliminated. She was about to take him out. But the otter climbed the tower first. She stopped and watched. Not daring to get any closer. Even though she wanted to know what was going on. She would wait for Marlene to retreat back to her habitat.

"Are you ok?" Marlene asked walking up behind Skipper. He seemed bothered. He seemed like he needed to talk. Even though he wasn't much of an open book. She had been around him long enough to know when something bothered him.

Skipper sighed. He knew she was there. But he didn't do anything. Maybe he needed to talk to someone. He probably would've eventually. "You could say that." He replied. Something was bothering him. And he knew he would end up telling Marlene. At least this time he would. He couldn't talk to them about it. Mostly because it was about them. Well pertly about them.

"I haven't seen you guys a lot lately." She stated sitting down next to him.

"We've been… busy." He replied. They have been. It wasn't a lie. The girls haven't given them much time to do anything. And they had to help Kowalski clean his lab. He couldn't get rid of the shards of metal without cutting himself. And it was easier with four sets of hands.

"Yeah, uh huh. What's bothering you?" She asked. There was obviously something bouncing around his mind.

He looked at her confused. She was very good at changing the topic. Very quickly too. "Nothing." He lied.

"No there's something on your mind. What is it?" Marlene pressed.

She was right. He didn't want them to get into trouble. He knew that they knew better. But that could be meaningless if they ignored it. Maybe he was worried about them. And then there was the Destiny thing. She didn't seem to like them. Especially him. But why? They didn't do anything. She just seemed to hate male penguins. It was just penguins. She was fine with the chimps, the lemurs, even Joey. But not Him or the guys. She seemed to hate them.

"Well?" She asked. He had responded with silence. So there was something there. And he was contemplating explaining it.

"Concerned." He said. He didn't know how to say it.

"About what?" Marlene asked.

"Them. And me actually." He explained. "I just hope they don't get into trouble. I'm letting them go. They know the city well. Hopefully enough to stay out of trouble."

"And you?"

"If she wakes up, she's going to try to kill me. Because I let them go. And I don't want to do it anymore. We've been fighting since she got here. Not with actions. Yet. Mostly with words. Mostly growling. I guess I'm just tired of it." Skipper explained. He was sick of fighting with Destiny. Sick of having to explain things to her. Of growling at her. Of feeling like he had to protect the guys from her. He was tired of it. Of her.

"She's a real problem then huh?" Marlene asked. She seemed to be what was bothering him. And it took a lot to bother Skipper like this.

"That's the thing. She is a problem. But mostly my problem. She's not a threat. Just annoying. But there's mystery to her." Skipper replied thinking. There was something about her. Something that made him curious.

"There's mystery to you too Skipper." Marlene stated. There were many mysteries to Skipper. Sometimes they were very annoying.

"Well…" Skipper didn't know what to say to that. She was right. He had mysteries too. But there was something about Destiny. A mystery that he had a strange need to solve. Why she hated male penguins.

"I think you should talk to her." Marlene suggested.

"And what? Get my head ripped off?" Skipper countered. "She has an unnatural anger towards me."

"I think you're just acting paranoid. Talk to her. Maybe you'll be able to find out why she hates you." Marlene Replied.

Skipper sighed.

She got up and walked to the edge of the tower. "Give it a try Mr. Paranoia." She said. Then she climbed down and went back to her habitat.

Talk to her. Yeah that would go well. She hated him. And he didn't know why. His curiosity was killing him. He didn't do anything to make her hate him. It didn't make sense. Why would a girl just hate boys?

Destiny watched Marlene jump back into her habitat. Once she made sure Marlene wouldn't come back out, she quickly ran up to the clock tower. It was go time.

Skipper pulled himself away from his thoughts. He felt something. Something wasn't right. _Oh great_. He thought. It hadn't even been two hours. He prepared himself though. She didn't seem it. But he knew better. She had something to protect. If that was why she was coming for him than she might actually be able to take him down. People who had something to protect were usually the stronger ones. Even if they were technically weaker. Or maybe she was stronger than he was. Looks may be deceiving. Either way he had to be prepared.

Destiny was driven by concern and anger. She would be able to control herself though. She wouldn't kill him. But she would make him tell her where they were. She reached the top and hid behind the bell. He didn't move. He just sat there and stared out on the street below. Now was her chance. She ran up to him and pulled him backwards throwing him back into the zoo.

Skipper let her. Under normal circumstances he would've snapped up and caught the attack. But he didn't. _Talk to her._ He couldn't get that out of his head. He needed to talk to her. That was the only way he would be able to find out why she hated him. He did make sure he landed on his feet. He didn't want or need to land on his face.

He turned to see that she had jumped down after him. He moved out of the way. She landed right in front of him. That was a little startling. He had expected her to land a little further away. He wished she had too. He could see the fire in her eyes. She wanted to kill him. He was right. If she woke up she was going to kill him.

She wanted to destroy him. But she couldn't do that. She needed him to give her information. And maybe killing him was a little extreme. But she was still angry. It blocked out all friendly thoughts. But she still had control. She could say that proudly now. Though she was still confused about how it happened. She was glad she could control herself. Because there were many things see wanted to know from Skipper. First was where the girls were. The rest was mostly about him. He was a closed book. And she wanted to open his book. She was curious. "Where are they?" She growled.

Skipper stepped back. For personal space. It wasn't very comfortable staring into fiery eyes. "I actually have no idea." He answered calmly.

She growled at him. He was lying. He had to be. He knew where they were.

"Why do you hate me?" He countered.

She was surprised. Confused actually. What would make him ask that now? "What?" She asked confused. Still angry.

"Why. Do you. Hate. Me." Skipper repeated slowly. It wasn't a very complicated question.

"Answer my question first." Destiny commanded, angrily.

"I told you. I don't know. I let them go off on their own. They're responsible enough to do that." Skipper replied calmly. She had a right to be angry. But he really didn't know where they were. It was starting to bother him. But, they still had time. That meant he was stuck with Destiny until they came back.

"You're lying!" Destiny shouted. "You know exactly where they are!" He wasn't telling her. Why wasn't he telling her? He had something to hide. But what could that be?

Skipper sighed. She had quite a temper. "No. I'm not lying. But I'll tell you something. They seemed happy together. If you're asking for their location so you can go get them…" He paused. "Then I wouldn't tell you. Even if I did know."

"Why not?" She growled. He was going to tell her. This clueless act wouldn't last forever.

"Because." He looked up at the night sky. "They seemed happy. I did say that didn't I? Kowalski, Rico, and Private are responsible guys. They're respectful too. Your friends are in good hands. I don't know what your deal is. What you have against male penguins is your problem. But whatever it is. It doesn't apply to my friends. They're better than that. They know better. Besides, I've never seen them like that before. They seem to like the girls." He looked back at Destiny. "Really like them. So you can hate other guys. You can think of other as irresponsible and heartless. But people here aren't like that. Well Julian might be. I don't really know about him. But everyone else has hearts. They don't see the point in making others hurt. You want some other reassurance? If those girls get hurt, you won't have time to kill Kowalski or Rico or Private." He turned away from her and started walking. "They'll already be dead." He meant it too. He would have to beat them to a pulp if the girls came home crying. He didn't have any tolerance for that. And they knew better. He gave them rope. If they misused the freedom then they would pay for it.

She didn't know what to say to that. She was shocked really. He could be lying. But he saw them. He saw them together. He was probably the one who helped them sneak out. He orchestrated all of it. He could be lying. But why would he? She realized that he didn't have any reason to lie to her. And what he said. He wouldn't tell her even if he knew. HE know why she wants to find them. He knows. He wasn't sitting up at the clock tower just to sit up there. He was sitting there, waiting. Waiting for her. So he could stop her from looking for them. maybe her picture of boys _was_ wrong. Maybe these four were different. He seemed so… calm. She was ready to rip his head off. She knew her eyes showed it. She was growling at him, flippers in fists ready to beat him to a pulp. And he was talking to her. He seemed do calm. Like her anger didn't faze him. _He expected it._ She realized. Skipper had expected her to be angry. He expected her to growl at him. He really was a smart guy. Well maybe not so much smart as clever. Maybe…Maybe she needed to learn more about him. She had a feeling about him. She had a feeling about him from day one. He was different. She just knew it. But now…she wanted to know why. She ran after him.

He didn't expect that. He had expected her to stay back there and take time to wrap her mind around what he had just said. But no. she wanted more. He really didn't feel like fighting at three o'clock in the morning. What surprised him the most was the fact that she didn't tackle him. She ran up to him…and walked right beside him. He really hadn't seen that one coming.

"Wait." She said. She didn't feel angry anymore. More curious. "What did you mean?"

Now he was really confused. "What?" He asked. What was she talking about? He meant a lot of theings before.

"You said they _seemed_ happy. Not they looked happy." She explained.

Skippers mind froze. She was right. He did say seemed. But he couldn't describe the love that he saw when they looked at each other. He couldn't find the right words to. They really loved each other. They had watched each other. At least Kowalski did. He had smacked Kowalski every day for three weeks after he'd left him alone with Kiki. Rico had acted weird too. Over accomplished. Private was really the only one who acted normal. After being scared out of his skin when he was caught with Cassy, Skipper couldn't really blame him.

"Well." Destiny said impatiently. "What did you mean?"

"They had that look in their eyes." He said. He knew that wasn't going to cut it. He knew he looked like an idiot. But he needed to think about how to say it. He was clueless right now.

Destiny sighed. "What look?" She pressed.

Here really wasn't any other way to say it. "Love. I haven't seen so much love in any one's eyes my entire life. They didn't have to say anything. It was how they acted. You could see that the world faded away when they were in each other's arms. Really it was just love." Skipper explained. He really should just let his mouth run when he felt clueless. It worked quite well. That's what he just did. He didn't want to think about how to say it so he let his mouth run. And it wasn't disastrous.

Destiny stopped. Love? He saw it? You could see love? She never saw love. How do see love? "How?" She asked. Mostly to herself. But he must've heard her because she answered.

"They love each other." He replied before he could catch himself. He knew she was talking to herself.

She looked at him. There was something wrong with him. She didn't know why she thought that. She just thought there was something wrong with him. "Is there something wrong with you?" She asked. She didn't mean to sound rude. She wasn't even supposed to say it. It was a thought.

Skipper didn't know how to respond to that. It came out of nowhere. He thought for a moment. "Everyone has something that's wrong with them. The real problem is how the outside world deals with it. Some people have trouble with the people around them because they aren't understood. Because they have a problem. Because something's wrong with them. If you've ever wondered where evil people came from. That's one place." Skipper explained. He didn't mean to sound depressed. He did though. If Manfredi and Johnson hadn't found him. Then he would've gone insane. He would've become a heartless monster. They had shown him that there's a place for everyone in this world. They had shown him that he belonged somewhere. That he could be happy. And he never let go of that. He never would. They kept him from becoming a monster. And he was never able to repay them. he never would've been.

Destiny stared at him. He was deep. She gave him that. But he sounded sad. Like there was a memory behind those words. She shook it off. She was probably wrong. Everyone sees things. He probably just saw something. "I can see that." She replied. She thought for a moment. Remembered. She never fit in. she was always made fun of because she was different. That was what she felt. A connection. He was obviously the odd man out. Even in this zoo. Everyone was a misfit. But even surrounded by misfits he stood out like a sore thumb.

"Back to what I asked before. Why don't you like me? You didn't even give me a chance to be an acquaintance." Skipper asked. She didn't give him any chance. She just saw a boy. She didn't see who that boy was. She just saw a boy and hated him.

"That's none of your business." Destiny replied looking away. He didn't need to know. Mark painted the perfect picture. She thought that she had finally found a guy that was nice. But it was the exact opposite. He made her realize. Boys lure you in. Then they break your heart. Crush you like a bug.

"Then I'll ask something that is my business. What do you see when you look at me? Do you see someone? Or do you just see a male? A guy. Someone to focus all anger on." Skipper asked seriously. He needed to know. If he knew then he could ease some tension between them. He was tired of having to concern himself with her reactions. He thought you had to be married, or at least dating, until you had to deal with that.

"I see a foul creature when I look at you. You're not the boss, yet you take to bossing people around. You never smile, and you don't sleep even though you see how much it concerns your friends." Destiny replied. He was getting on her nerves. She didn't know why. Or where that statement had come from. But most of it was true.

"First of all, I don't ignore the fact that they concern themselves with my lack of sleep. Sleeping has never been easy. In fact it's a forced action for me. Second I don't take to bossing people around. I boss people around so they don't start an all-out brawl. And I haven't seen you smile yet either so I wouldn't be talking if I were you." Skipper countered defensively. Everything he did had a reason behind it. "And none of that answers my question." He added.

Ok so most of it had reason. But that didn't make it a lie. "I don't need to answer your question." Destiny replied angrily. She didn't want to answer his question. Truthfully she didn't know the answer to his question.

"You don't want to." Skipper replied. It was obvious. She didn't want to answer it.

Destiny growled. But that was a time buyer. She was thinking. He was a guy. But maybe he was different. "No. I don't just see a guy. But I don't know what I see. You're not-" She stopped herself. _Like Mark._ He wasn't like Mark. He was talking to her. He wasn't hitting on her like Mark did. He wasn't doing that. He wasn't like Mark. Her picture of boys was wrong. There was no maybe anymore. Now she knew. He was different. All four of them were. She turned away from him. The memory flashed in her mind. Hands, feet, ropes, bloody sheets, pain, weakness, fear, all of it. Everything Mark did to her. And she couldn't. She couldn't hold back the tears.

"I'm not what?" Skipper asked curiously. He wasn't…. A foul creature? A disastrous monster? What? He didn't know what completed that sentence. He focused on her. She turned away. He's not something. And that something was something she didn't want to talk about. But maybe she needed to. "Hello?" He asked. He needed to get her attention. So he could ask.

She heard him. But she didn't want to talk to him. Not about Mark. She couldn't. She just couldn't. The memory was just too much to talk about. She probably needed to, though. But she couldn't. even thinking about it brought back the feelings. The pain. But she couldn't help herself. She felt bad for leaving him like that. She should've stopped herself before starting the sentence. She sighed. "Like Mark." She finished. She wiped her eyes and turned back to him. "You're not like Mark."

"Ok. Who's Mark?" Skipper asked confused. Who was Mark? And why wasn't he like this guy?

Destiny looked around. "Not here." She said. She had to tell him now or he would never leave her alone.

They went back to the habitat. She sat down on one of the blankets. Skipper leaned against the wall. This could be interesting. Mark wasn't someone she wanted everyone knowing about.

It was completely dark inside. Skipper turned on a flashlight and tossed it to Destiny.

She caught it and placed in on the floor, pointed towards him.

He didn't comment on that. She didn't want him sneaking about. He knew that she would just sit there. But it seemed she didn't trust him like he did her. He didn't know why he trusted her. But he didn't really think much about that. He wanted to know who Mark was.

Destiny took a deep breath. "If I didn't start that sentence we wouldn't be here. Just make sure you know that." She warned. "And don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. I'm being more open than I should be." She thought about what she was about to do. This was very unexpected. Unwanted. But she wasn't heartless. She sighed. _Here we go._ "A few years ago, I met a guy named Mark. He seemed nice. Trustworthy, loving. A guy girls want to date. And I had my heart broken many times before. So finding a guy worth loving was a good thing. The girls were happy that someone finally respected me. But we were wrong. We were all wrong. He tricked us. All four of us into thinking he was a good guy. It was just an act. After dating for a few months it started. His temper started to come out more. I kept it a secret. So they wouldn't be concerned. But then I couldn't take it anymore. I told him that he needed to go away. I didn't want to be around him anymore. That's the day he did it." She paused, taking another deep breath. "He got angry. Extremely angry. He was a smart guy, smarter than Kiki. But he never showed it. That's why I was so surprised when he created the human serum. He made me drink it, then drank it himself. I didn't know what it did. But before I could ask I was five feet tall with ten finger and toes. I was wearing basic human cloths. Jeans and a blank blue tee-shirt. He was wearing jeans too, and a white tee-shirt. He covered my mouth so I couldn't scream. The girls weren't there. They were occupied with something. He dragged me into an apartment building. He pushed me into a windowless room and locked the door. I didn't know he was so strong. So I argued with him. I told him to let me go. To change me back. But he didn't do that." She closed her eyes. Drawing an uneasy breath she continued.

Skipper stood up from leaning on the wall. He could tell that something happened. And he wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore.

"Mark picked up four pieces of rope off the floor. I didn't even see them. he attacked me. I held him off until. He somehow got behind me and hit me over the head with something. I blacked out. And when I woke up again…I was tied to a bed. I couldn't move. And then…he-he…" She took a deep breath. _Go on. There's no use stopping now. Finish it_.

Skipper was going to tell her that she could stop. But she continued before he got the chance.

"He-he ripped my cloths of and…he…raped…me." She could feel tears burning behind her eyes.

Skipper had never been so stunned by three words. He had never felt so stunned. Rape victims usually were cowards. Destiny was anything but.

She could feel the memory shooting back. The fear the helplessness. But she had to continue. He was probably shell shocked. It wasn't fair to leave it at that. Or maybe it was. There was only one way to find out. "Then he left. I never felt so helpless in my entire life. I didn't know what to do. Nothing like that had ever happened to me. I couldn't pull myself free. I was stuck there. I thought I was going to die there." She paused again. "But he came back. And he brought a few of his friends. They beat me. I've never been in so much pain. I had cuts and bruises everywhere. Holes, long, deep, scratches. I felt so weak. So sore from the knives or knuckles or whatever they used. Screaming did nothing. No one came no one helped. If anyone heard me they were too scared to call the police. They laughed at it. They laughed the whole time. And then, when they were done, they threw a blanket over me and they just left me there. They left me there to die. And I thought I would. I hoped I would. I didn't want to live knowing he was out there somewhere. But I couldn't fall asleep. I thought that maybe if I slept I would die, I would never wake up. And I believed that. What I didn't believe was that someone would find me. Someone would come looking for me. I was staring at the ceiling, waiting to die, waiting for him to come back and do something else, when I heard her. It was Kiki. She had called my name. It hurt too much to move, but I turned my head to her. I hoped it wasn't true. I hoped it was all in my head. But it wasn't she was standing there, all three of them were. They were all staring at me, with terrified looks in their eyes. i felt tears burning behind my eyes, and when I let them flow, I felt burning in my cheeks, where there were cuts. I croaked out Kiki's name. she looked the worse. Cassy was leaning into Nicky. She didn't want to see me. They untied me and wrapped the blanket around me. After that they took me down to the police station. They knew where that was, but didn't know where the hospital was. They laid me down on a bench. Nicky and Kiki talked to one of the sheriffs. Cassy sat with me. I didn't do anything. I didn't say anything. I felt traumatized. I couldn't will myself to do anything. Mark apparently wanted to do something more to me. He found out I wasn't there and went to the police. When police tried to apprehend him he shot at them. I felt my stomach burning. I grabbed it and felt a warm liquid. He shot me. I managed to get out a moan before a blacked out. The last thing I heard was Cassy screaming my name. Next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital. Mark had been arrested and would be in prison for five years before he could get out. After spending two months in the hospital I was able to go home. Kiki had made a reverse human serum. We were animals again. But it still took me almost six months to mentally heal. And they tried everything. Mark will be in prison for three more years. But the scar he gave me will be there forever." Destiny finished solemnly. She was never the same. Mark had left her in such a bad mental state. It was worse than being suicidal. She had felt like she wasn't even there most days. But after she got over it, she was able to go for months without even remembering Mark.

Skipper didn't know what to make of that. What she had to go through was traumatizing. And she didn't need to go through that. No one did. No wonder she hated males. He would too if he was afraid something like that would happen again. Mark had acted nice. So every nice guy was still a threat. It made sense. But it was still sad.

He walked over to her and sat down next to her. She didn't hate him. She was afraid that if she let herself become a friend, he would hurt her like Mark did. And it wasn't her fault. "You know, letting the past effect the future isn't healthy." Skipper stated. "Personally, and you don't have to listen to me at all, I think if you were to let him go completely, start a new page with the male population, you'd be happier. I don't think you hate me. I think you're just afraid. And you have every right and reason to be. This Mark guy. He's a real twisted man. But he won't find you in New York. Down in Florida, people may not be helpful. They may not care. But People in New York will usually call for help. A word to the wise, everyone's different. We all have our own way of living. So don't let one mistake of a life ruin your outlook on everyone. Not every guy enjoys watching people suffer. Not every guy is going to play you like a game." Skipper got up. "And trust me when I tell you. There are cruel people out there. People who will use your emotions to get close to you. They'll play you. They'll treat you like they love you. They'll act like they care. But they don't. But be aware that even though there are many people who are heartless in the world, there are those who are born with hearts too. They're just harder to find." Skipper walked towards the ladder. People were cruel. They didn't care. They hurt others. They tortured others too. But for every evil there is a good. But sometimes you have to go through the evil to get to the good. Like a patch of tulips surrounded by thorn bushes. Skipper wasn't going to hurt her. He wasn't going to fight her or growl at her. And he wasn't going to do that not because he was sick of it. But because she needed to know that here. In the Central Park Zoo, everyone was family. Once you were in you were family. Sure there were fights. But there are fights in every family.

Destiny thought about that. He was right. Everyone is different. Every person is led by their own ideas and thoughts. Every person had his own way of living. She couldn't let one person ruin her outlook on everyone else. No one had ever made her realize that before. He didn't say 'gee that awful.' Or 'gosh I'm sorry that happened.' Or 'are you ok?'. He was calm. He didn't sound shocked at all. He sounded caring. Like what he said was said to calm her down. But it was said with heart. Heartfelt. He cared. But unlike others he knew that he couldn't change the past. Instead he aimed to change the future. And she respected that. Skipper was able to put aside the fact that she had been so rude to him. She had been so hateful and mean to him. And he realized tha it wasn't anger, or hate, or anything he did. He realized that she was just afraid. And everything he said worked towards fixing her problem towards men. After thinking about it. The meaning behind what he had said to her, Destiny felt different. She realized that she didn't have to focus on letting Mark go. She had to focus on letting other guys have a chance. She needed to let herself become acquaintances with guys and maybe even friends. "Thank you." She said calmly. He needed to know how grateful she was towards him. For making her realized what she was doing wrong.

Skipper turned around and smiled at her. "You're welcome." He replied calmly. "Shall we call a truce?"

She had to think about that. "A truce?" She asked getting up.

Skipper walked back over to her. "A truce." He repeated. "Become acquaintances" He stuck out his flipper.

"Oh…uh." She didn't know what to do. After the incident with Mark she hadn't trusted any boy. Maybe she could start with him. He did seem safe. "I guess we could" She said cautiously, still unsure about trusting a boy. She shook his flipper. She would have to see where this acquaintanceship went.

Skipper turned to leave.

"Wait." Destiny said stopping him. "when will they be back?" She asked remembering the girls.

"I told them to be back by five." Skipper replied. "If they're not back by then I'll be surprised. They usually aren't very late. Five thirty will probably be the latest time before they all return."

"Ok. So it's.." Destiny looked up at the clock. "Almost four now."

"Then we wait." Skipper replied.

'Hmm. Do you play chess?" She asked. Now that she was awake she couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

"Yes. Why?" Skipper replied slowly. He was a little confused.

"Well you're an acquaintance now. Think you could help waste some time?" She asked calmly. _And maybe reassure me that I didn't make a big mistake._ Destiny thought nervously.

"Why not?" Skipper shrugged. He wasn't in the mood for doing nothing either.

So they set up the board and played chess. Not a bad start to a shaky acquaintanceship.

_**Pretty unexpected huh? I felt bad for Destiny. And I beith her OC creator. But I let the fingers write the story. They usually do anyway. It's like they have their own brains. Nothing ever goes the way I plan it too. Though I have to say, and not to pat their ten little backs, they've got talent. Anyway until the next chapter, I bid you adue.**_


	21. An early Christmas present

Kiki, Kowalski, Nicky, Rico, Private and Cassy met in the park. But they didn't enter the zoo. It was only four fifty. Ten more minutes couldn't hurt could it?

"Can we go wait now?" Destiny asked impatiently. She wanted to see them. She wanted to see what Skipper had seen. Eyes filled to the brim with nothing but love. She wanted to see that. So she knew. So she didn't have to worry anymore. She was tired of worrying. If they weren't going to listen to her then she was going to need to know that they were safe.

"Fine." Skipper sighed. She had been annoying him for long enough now. She wanted to see what he'd described to him. And they hadn't come back yet. He did say _before_ five. Not at five or after five. Before. And they weren't here yet.

They walked to the clock tower and climbed it. Skipper had brought a pair of binoculars to help him spot them before she did. To give her a warning. She took one side of the bell and he took the other. It was a good thing too. He saw them right away. They were standing fifty yards away from his position.

"Hey." He called "Come here." She wanted to see what he'd seen. Now was her chance. They were acquaintances now. They could do good things to each other now instead of fighting.

Destiny didn't know what he'd seen. But she felt butterflies in her stomach. Good and bad. She wanted to see the love. To get rid of her worry that they'd get their hearts broken. But then again, he could be tricking her. Just to get a laugh out of this boring night. She walked up to Skipper and took the binoculars.

"Look straight. You'll see them." Skipper instructed.

She looked forward with the binoculars pressed against her eyes. She saw them right away. They were leaning into each other. Kiki on Kowalski, Cassy on Private, and Nicky on Rico. The girls almost looked like they were burying their heads in the boy's chests, the way they rested their heads on them. And the guys let them. They let the girls bury their heads into their chests. Destiny watched them. The boys lowered their heads, resting them on top of the girl's heads. They had their arms around each other. The girls flippers casually draping around the guys necks. And the guys arms surrounding the girls, holding them, around the girls middle. They looked so confortable. So happy. And when they glanced into each other's eyes she saw it. It was only there for a second before they closed their eyes and returned to their peaceful embrace again. But in that second she saw it. All the love they felt towards each other. All of it. All of the want to spend every moment possible with each other. The longing to be together, without fear or a deadline. Forever. She saw that they would die for each other in a heartbeat. A blink of an eye. She saw respect too. In the boys eyes. They respected the girls. They were good guys. What Kiki had tried so hard to tell her…was true. She had been surrounded by jerks for so long that she had forgotten. Boys can have hearts too. They can be wild and respectful. They could be nice, gentlemen.

Gentlemen. It had the word men in it. Gentle and man. A gentle man. A Gentleman. Nice, kind, respectful, gentle. Destiny had forgotten about them. She forgot that there were gentlemen in the world. And now, she knew four. And she was standing right next to one of them. It felt strange to stand next to him. He hadn't moved. Not towards her. He didn't give any sign of doing so. He was keeping his distance. She didn't mind that. She didn't want to be close to him. She wasn't comfortable around him yet. After a while she wouldn't mind him anymore. But right now she was a bit shaky. He knew one of her deepest secrets. He could do anything with it. Blackmail, sellout, backstab, anything.

But she didn't have butterflies in her stomach. Or knots. She didn't feel worried at all. She felt a mysterious trust towards him. Like she knew he wouldn't tell anyone. She trusted him, even though he didn't really do anything to gain that trust. She felt trust towards him, calmness. He was different. The more she was around him, the more she saw that he was different in a good way. He didn't kill or anything like that. She could tell just by looking at him. She had pulled the binoculars away from her face and was currently analyzing him. He was completely calm. There were no tensed shoulders, his back wasn't straightened, he was sitting down on the concrete roofing of the tower, stargazing. He was watching the stars, just sitting there looking up upon them. Looking at them with tired eyes as they sparkled. His eyes did too. They sparkled. It was the reflection of a star in his eyes. But it brought out how deep they really were. That was one thing that she had noticed, Skipper had deep, soul deep, sapphire blue eyes. They were very nice. Beautiful even.

Skipper had acted calm all night. That's what she thought was truly amazing. She had blown up at him, shocked him, told him something very traumatizing. But he remained calm. Silent. Yet, she could feel his presence. The boys back in Florida weren't like this. She could really sense Skippers presence. It was the strongest sensation anyone had ever given off. She would know if he shifted position, or passed out, fell backwards, forwards, just by sensing his presence. Usually she couldn't sense someone like that. There had to be a reason for something so strange.

And even stranger than that was her abnormal want to be around him. Able to watch what he does. Her attraction to him. No boy, even before Mark, had ever attracted her like that before. Something about him. It had to be him. It wasn't herself. It had to be Skipper. But them, another question was raised. What was it about him? Why did he seem to have such a pull? It was an odd feeling.

Skipper knew that she was staring at him. He could feel it. She was looking him over. But he didn't feel awkward. It didn't feel…strange to him. Like she had the right to analyze him right now. She did in a way. She told him something. But he told her nothing about himself. So in a way Destiny did have a right to look him over.

He took his mind off of it by looking up at the stars. Only the bright ones could be seen through the glare of the city. But the clear night sky was still beautiful. There were many stars that could be seen through the cities glare. He watched some blink off as others turned on. The sign of a new life, and a death. His mother had told him once, when a star turns off, when it can no longer be seen, a new life is born. And when a star appears, someone has died. So as he sat there watching the stars blink on and off, he thought of how coordinated the stars were. Whenever one blinked off, another would blink on. He forgot about Destiny for a few minutes. Looking up at the white lights that dotted the black sky. It was calming. To him it was.

But he had to shift his attention back to her gaze. He didn't look at her. But he still felt her lingering gaze. It killed him to wonder what she was thinking. And why she was still staring at him. What bothered him wasn't her gaze. Nor her thoughts. It was his own feelings and urges that bothered him. He was comfortable around her. He felt like he could trust her. But he wasn't going to. Not fully anyway. She trusted him enough to tell him about Mark. But he didn't know if that was just an act or not. If her stare was just that, a stare. And her thoughts were on how to trick him. But then again. If that was the case then, why did he have the urge to get closer to her? Why did she feel different than the other girls he had known? Why did he feel like he could trust her? He didn't know her very well. Everything he knew about her came from her hostility and the things he had observed over the last month. So what was it?

Skipper looked out at the park. Passed the guys, and the girls, passed the grass and the trees. He looked out further than the streets and the buildings. His eyes were open, but he didn't see anything. He remembered what he had observed. What he had learned. Destiny hadn't exactly treated him like she cared for him at all. He was just another guy. And now he knew why he treated him like that. He had to organize it all. Everything he'd seen, every word she'd said to him, everything he could remember.

After a few minutes he came up with a partial profile on Destiny, mentally of course. He wouldn't tell anyone either. It was purely for himself. Destiny had dated different guys until she met a man named Mark, who changed her entire outlook on the male species. Until today Destiny had treated him like she hated him because he was a male. She seems to be a lot like himself, which confused and interested him at the same time. She hid her feelings behind a wall of stone. But she did care, she was strong, mentally and physically. She had a heart, when and where she used it was something he didn't know for sure. But it seemed to Skipper that although she put out a tough attitude, uncaring and heartless at times, it was a lie. She wasn't heartless. And for some reason he didn't think she would let him die if she could do something about it. He wouldn't let her die. He would save her. She was different. All girls were different. Unique in their own good or bad ways. But that wasn't it. Destiny gave him a sense. A weird sense that he hadn't felt since Johnson was around. Like he didn't have to worry so much. He started to feel like some of the weight that constantly rested on his shoulders, was lifted. Some. Not all. But it helped keep him calm. And it only lifted when Destiny told him about Mark. Like somehow her trust in him gave her some of his worry. She was just as focused as he was. Just as concentrated and alert as he was. Maybe that was why. He really didn't know why he felt a little of the weight lifted. But that was his guess. Destiny matched him. She could help. Or she could give him a very good fight.

Destiny pulled her gaze away from him. She didn't understand why she had the need to know him. She never really wanted to get to know a guy. Even before Mark. She didn't usually go up to a guy. But she was curious. She wanted to know what made him so different. She could tell that there was a heart in him. Something that had been iffy when she first met him and a few weeks afterwards. But now he seemed-she hated to realize what her mind was thinking-attractive. He wasn't exactly nice. But he wasn't totally mean either. He had moods but he somehow contained a mostly open attitude. Or so it seemed. He was strong, clever, and controlled. By himself yes, but he had a very strong hold on himself. After they punished everyone for disobedience, he didn't touch them. Not when he was extremely annoyed. He scared them half to death, it was written in their facial expressions and how they shook when he pinned them against the wall. But he'd stop himself before he hit them even once. He had control. Most guys didn't. He was different in a god way. Not to mention the fact that he actually listened to her **and** gave her advice after she'd treated him like dirt. **That** said something about him.

Skipper. Pulled his mind back to reality and looked at them. All six of them were staring up at the clock tower. He laughed. They probable thought they were dead meat. It gave him an idea. They had an acquaintanceship. Why not make it stronger? They could always trick them. They did show up late. He looked up at the clock. It was five oh three. Four minutes late. He said before five. He was pretty sure that five oh three was after five o'clock.

Destiny saw them staring at the clock tower. They saw her and Skipper. She was sure they did. But she didn't know how to react. Luckily, Skipper wasn't so clueless. It was embarrassing.

"Well. I think we should greet them. Are you up for a little trick?" He asked casually.

"Trick?" Destiny asked confused. What did his little head have in mind?

"Well. They're late. So let's give them a little scare." Skipper explained. "You're the one they think is going to kill them." Skipper looked at her.

She smiled. She knew what he had in mind now. "You want me to run after them like I want to kill them." She said. He was smart too. Impressive.

"Let them get away from you. Then we'll both cut them off. You get the confession and details, which I was unable to give before. Then we let them know that we're not going to kill them." Skipper concluded.

Destiny smiled at him. "That's a nice plan." She complemented. "You're smarter than you look."

"Of course I am. I look like an idiot." Skipper countered. He didn't have dignity, or not a lot of it. He doesn't get embarrassed easily. So he could look like a fool and basically not care. People usually got over it and respected him again. It just took time. He had pride. That was something only he could take away from himself. That was all he needed really. That and a heart.

"Can't argue with that." Destiny agreed. He did act like an idiot. He did that when he unwillingly took them for a tour. She could tell the short one, Private made him go. He had at it with the lemur with the hat. She could tell that he just thought it was wrong. It was. And if she wasn't trying so hard not to kill the guy she would've said almost the same thing that he did. But he still looked like an over protective idiot.

Skipper shook his head. He expected her to agree on that. But she sounded more friendly now. And he didn't feel mad at her. He actually wanted to smile at that. It was odd. Usually he'd object to that. Or at least feel some sort of…offence at the agreement. But he thought it as a joke this time. It was strange.

"But she's up." Cassy objected fearfully.

"We can't stay out here though Cass." Kiki reasoned.

"Yeah they'll just come out and get us." Nicky added.

"Then we'll have to go in." Kowalski sighed.

"Anh jegble dulge butds icked." Rico grunted.

"Well yeah. Did you really think we wouldn't get our butts kicked?" Nicky snapped nervously.

They decided to go into the zoo before they were dragged into the zoo.

"Ready?" Destiny asked. This might actually be fun.

Skipper nodded. He told them, the guys, time and time again that you couldn't be late. For a date for a rendezvous. Or for a rescue. Being late had consequences. Sometimes very severe.

Destiny closed her eyes. when she opened them she put her flippers into fists, tilted her head down, pressed her eyebrows together, and got ready to chase six sorry penguins around the zoo.

Skipper also go into character. He made himself look like he was trying to reason with destiny. She looked like she was ready to murder someone. Let the game begin.

All six of them were smart. They entered, saw Destiny, quickly analyzed her, and took off running.

"Well. They're smart." Destiny stated coming out of her killer act for a second. She went after them, turning her killer act back on.

She chased them around the entire zoo. Through every tire swing. In every pond or water spot. Over every rock. In and out of every habitat and room in the zoo. She was growling the whole time. It worked. All six of them thought that she was going to literally kill them. They were running frantically, splitting up and coming together in different areas. It seemed almost like a reversed Pac man game. Six pacmans and one ghost.

After they all joined back together running away from her she stopped. She was in front of the zoovuneer shop. Skipper jumped down next to her.

"Where are they?" She asked out of breathe, a little. Now it was time to surprise them.

"This way." Skipper replied running towards Marlene's habitat. He had a strange feeling that they were running towards her habitat. But he didn't know why.

They jumped in front of Marlene's habitat. Skipper was right, they were running towards Marlene's habitat. They almost ran into Destiny and him. They immediately cowered into flinches as they awaited the first blow. It was actually a little humorous.

"Calm down will you." Skipper said, playing his reasoning act. He had to make it feel real. He could tell by The reactions of the girls and guys that their plan was working well.

"Don't. Tell. Me. To. Calm. Down." Destiny hissed in his face. This was turning out to be quite fun. She couldn't believe it, but it was fun.

"You can't kill them. you already did that once before." Skipper replied calmly.

"Fine." Destiny growled. "Where were you?" She hissed at them, who were still flinching in fear.

They thought they were dead. Now they would never get to see each other again. Not after this. Their love was not allowed. Forbidden. They weren't allowed to be together. And sneaking out did nothing to help. They relaxed a little, looking straight at Skipper and Destiny. But not into their eyes. they weren't brave enough.

"Well." Cassy started. She just wanted to get it done and over with. "Private took me to… um." She couldn't remember the center they were at.

"Rockefeller plaza. The Radio City Theater. The Christmas tree, and the ice skating rink." Private informed. Maybe if Destiny knew then they would be able to see each other. It was worth a shot.

"Oh De it was so much fun. We saw a musical. They had a live orchestra and everything!" Cassy explained excitedly. She had a lot of fun with Private, and wished she could do it all again.

"Destiny didn't reply. Though she wanted to. That sounded nice. Right up Cassy's alley. She probably loved it. More than loved it. She shifted her attention to Nicky. "And you?" She asked with a low toned, aggravated voice. She was curious to know what she did with speechless. _That's mean. _She told herself. _There's a reason for why he can't talk._

"We went on a tour cruise around the island. It was so much fun. We danced and ran around like it was a maze. Well he pulled me." She grinned at Rico. He grinned back. "Still fun strangely. And then we looked out from the top deck. It was amazing. The ocean and the sky faded into nothing. Like and endless abyss." Nicky explained still in awe by the memory of the sight.

That was also right up Nicky's alley. She liked doing fast active things, dancing and running around. She probably had fun too. Destiny turned to Kiki, who was half hiding behind Kowalski. Kowalski looked pretty terrified himself. She couldn't blame him. "What about you two?" She hissed. "What did you do?"

"We-um-we." Kiki couldn't get it out. She had to shake it off. She cleared her throat and stepped out from behind Kowalski. "We went to the top of the Empire State building." She declared.

Destiny was shocked. Slapped in the face. Kiki? On top of the Empire State building? That thing was like, one hundred stories high or more. Kiki didn't even go up ten floors back in Florida. "Oh really?" She asked skeptically. She really was skeptical though. "And how did you wined up on the top of the Empire State Building here, when you won't go passed the tenth floor back in Florida?"

Kiki turned away from Kowalski and pouted. "He took my glasses." She said in a grumpy voice.

"Wow. That was overly simple." Nicky stated. If they did that a while back Kiki would've been long done with her fear of heights.

She turned back straight. "And the sky's were beautiful De! Millions and millions of stars in the sky, more down below. It was almost like being up in space!" She explained happily. Easily one of the best nights in her life.

"Well. Do you trust them?" Skipper asked, holding onto his reasoning act. He was grateful that this was almost over.

Destiny thought for a moment. "I do." She replied.

"Then now you know where they've been and what they've been doing." Skipper stated calmly.

"Yup. Now I do." Destiny replied, also in a calm tone of voice.

The two received very confused looks from the six others. What just happened?

Destiny and Skipper high fived. Mission accomplished.

Nicky felt like a total fool. She had been played. All six of them had been played. "Whoa whoa, wait just one minute." She said strongly. Not scared at all anymore. Just confused. "What just happened?" She pointed at Destiny. "Why aren't you trying to kill us?" Destiny should be ripping them to shreds right now. Miles passed angry about them running off. Sneaking out. What gives?

Destiny laughed. "It's actually quite complicated." She said. It wasn't really all too complicated. She just didn't want to explain it.

"Hold up." Kiki said confused. "You two just played us." She objected. "That's just wrong."

"We did play you. It was a good way to find out where you went. And you were late." Skipper replied casually.

"But why did you two work together?" Kowalski asked trying to figure out all possibilities of what could've happened. "You two hated each other earlier today."

They thought about that for a few minutes. "Let's just say, we got tired of it. And since you guys were missing and he knew why, I had no reason to be angry at him. I thought he knew where you were. So we are officially acquaintances now." Destiny explained. It felt good to tell them. Now they knew. That was a good thing.

"But-" Kiki started.

"Can't you guys accept the fact that yes we tricked you, but I told you to be back _before _five. And you were late, and we got tired of hating each other. It's not that difficult." Skipper interrupted. He didn't want to explain everything. He didn't need to.

Kiki sighed. They weren't going into detail. And she was going to have to deal with it. For now anyway.

Destiny smiled at them. "Hey it's four days before Christmas." She stated.

Everyone looked at her confused. They all knew that.

"I think I can give an early present."

"What? What is it?" Cassy asked curiously.

"Freedom." Destiny said. She smiled at them, counting the seconds it took for them to comprehend what she had just said. They deserved to have freedom. The boys had proven their love. Even though it was unintentional. She was almost certain that these boys could take care of the girls. They were different. She glanced at Skipper. He had a smile on his face. He knew what she meant.

It took Kiki all of two seconds to figure it out. She lit up right away. "You don't mean..?" She asked not even finishing the sentence.

"I do." Destiny laughed. She liked to see Kiki so happy.

Kiki squeaked happily. She couldn't help herself. She didn't lose Kowalski. She got twenty four hour rights to see him. That was singly the best Christmas gift ever. She turned to Kowalski, who was already smiling brightly at her. She jumped into his arms laughing, and hugged him. He was hers. And she was his. How perfect could this night be?

Kowalski couldn't believe it. He had expected to be stripped of something. Kiki for sure, and maybe the feeling of one of his limbs. But no. He was overjoyed and numb with happiness. Now they didn't have to sneak out. And they could see each other whenever. After training and entertaining of course. He couldn't help laughing as he hugged her. Holding her tight and spun around, ending the spin by putting her down. But he didn't let go. He was too happy to.

Nicky hugged Rico, laughing. She felt so happy. So relieved. Rico had shown her the best night ever. He had shown her love. And now she could see that love every day. She wasn't a fan of mushy things. But she didn't think she could live without Rico. And she was over joyed. Now she wouldn't have to. She could see him whenever she wanted, as long as training was done. But that was the only obstacle now. She felt light. Free. Destiny had given her the best Christmas gift ever.

Rico didn't know what to do. He was too happy for his mind to operate properly. So he just hugged Nicky back and laughed with her. She was his. His and his forever. And now he didn't have to hide it.

Cassy and Private felt the exact same things. Happier than they'd ever felt before. They couldn't believe that their perfect night just got better. They hugged not wanting to ever let go. It was solely, the best night ever. They loved each other more than they could show. Their love only intensified after this night. They didn't have to hide their love anymore. How great was that?

Cassy felt tears in her eyes. She was happy a lot. But she hadn't been so happy that she'd cried. Not in a very long time. She let the tears fall as she held onto Private. Her Private. The one she loved, and who loved her.

Destiny couldn't wipe the smile off her face. It had been ages since she'd seen the girls so happy. She was glad that tonight went the way it did. She felt a greater sense of trust. She felt happier and more alive. But she was also confused at the same time. Confused by Skipper. She felt like she knew half of him. But what was the other half? She would have to find out. But right nowshe was happy. Happy in seeing them so happy.

Skipper didn't expect that. He didn't expect that at all. But it seemed to be the perfect ending of their perfect night. He liked seeing the guys so happy. They hadn't been this happy in a while. It was good to see them smiling like they were. Overjoyed. They looked almost care free that's how happy they looked. And they deserved it. Destiny finally saw that they deserved it. She finally realized that they deserved to be together. Unafraid to be together. He was glad she did. He was right. There was a heart inside of Destiny. He was glad to see that. It meant that he could let go of his worries. She wasn't a robot or a spy. She was a normal penguin. A normal girl. Well not normal. But made out of flesh and bones. Pretty too. Especially her eyes.


	22. quick forged friendship

_**Thanx for staying with me guys. And thanx for the reviews! I was going to give something away. But then the events leading up to it would've been less…how should I say….WOW. or ya know less interesting. Very gutsy moves I would say. You'll figure out what that means. I will warn you the Christmas part in this story is very short, very uneventful and doesn't play a significant role in the story. So I apologize to all those who were looking forward to a well written Christmas. The last chapters dragged all romance out of me. Sorry about that. But I will try not to make it a boring chapter. **_

Four days passed uneventfully. They were calm and peaceful, like a warm summer day. It hadn't snowed. This year wasn't going to have a white Christmas. But it was going to be a calm happy one for sure. Nothing happened, everyone was keeping to themselves. No fights, or problems. No one was bothering anyone else. Even Julian turned his annoyance levels down a few notches, which was very surprising but welcomed. All animals of the zoo had decorated their habitats and were getting ready for Christmas to finally be here.

The cuts and bruises from their punishments had disappeared off Kowalski, Rico, Private, Cassy, Kiki, and Nicky's bodies. They were still happy as could be about their new freedom.

Destiny had changed. In a good way. She was nicer, calmer, more understanding, and she was listening, comprehending everything she heard. It was nice to actually see her un annoyed and calm, after her being angry at something twenty four hours a day. She was still strict, bossy, and paranoid. And after forging an acquaintanceship with Skipper, those traits really started to come out more. She wasn't as hidden as she was before. She and Skipper could have normal conversations, with the same words and comments that would've plunged them into a fight before.

Before the night that they made an acquaintanceship, Skipper and Destiny argued a lot. Mostly about unimportant things, like why the zoo was so behind in technology, or why Skipper watched over and solved the problems of the zoo. It wasn't just one of them, Skipper and Destiny both antagonized each other. Questions were countered with questions or answered with smart ass remarks. But not anymore. Now the two of them could actually have conversations.

"Why don't you try laying on the floor?" Destiny challenged. She and Skipper were discussing sleep. Neither one of them had slept much during the week. Destiny laid down, but couldn't fall asleep. She had slept only a few times in the last week.

Skipper hadn't slept at all. They weren't tired, they were curious.

"Where we sleep is made of the same hard surface." Skipper replied casually. He didn't sleep on a soft pillow, or on downy feathers. He slept on concrete. They all did. And it didn't bother him a lot. He was used to not sleeping on regular beds. He was curious to know why she didn't sleep well. It showed earlier in the week that she didn't sleep much. She had started to look tired, but didn't sleep. He didn't either, but he was still curious. "And I gave you blankets. You could use those for more than just warmth you know."

Destiny knew that a blanket had more than one use. "I knew that. It's still not the best thing to sleep on." She countered.

"You two seem nicer." Nicky commented. The two of them have been talking to each other for the past two days.

"Nicer?" Destiny asked confused. She didn't understand the comment. Nicer as in temperament wise? Or just nicer in general? Maybe both. Destiny didn't know. But she was curious now.

"Well there's no screaming, or growling, and for the past two days you two haven't been at each other. You guys have actually been talking." Nicky explained. It was a nice change. But Nicky picked up on something else. It didn't make any sense to her either; it wasn't something she expected Destiny to do. She picked up flirting. Some of the conversations that Destiny had with Skipper didn't sound like conversations as much as they did flirts, From both of them. It wasn't heavy, it was a lighter tone. Their vices gave off a slight tone of interest. In each other. They were curious, about each other. They wanted to know more, learn more, see more about each other. They probably weren't all too interested in dating each other. Knowing Destiny she probably wasn't very interested in the guy. Skipper didn't come off as the dating type, he seemed more secretive towards girls. Even if he gave some deep information about himself (telling the girls, excluding Destiny, why he didn't trust love), he still seemed to be too secretive to have interest in anyone. Especially Destiny. She was being just as secretive as he was. Or maybe, just maybe, they might actually be attracted to one another. _Now there's a thought._ Nicky thought.

Destiny thought about that. It was true. She hadn't fought much with Skipper ever since they made the truce. She had gotten to know his nicer side better over the past two days. He wasn't as bad as she had originally thought he was. He seemed too serious before, but he wasn't always like that. He hadn't joked around with her, but she saw hints of him poking fun at the guys. All of his sarcastic or smart ass remarks were just who he was. Before she thought everything he did was to tick her off. But it was all just him, how difficult he seemed, annoyingly clever-at times-, his bossiness, his tendency to be quite the control freak and then not controlling at all, he was unpredictable. It was just who he was though. "It makes things easier to do when we're not screaming at each other." Destiny finally said calmly. She didn't know what Nicky was trying to say. But she felt that she just wanted to state something. Her comment didn't have a real reason, she just threw it out there. Nicky had a tendency to do that sometimes.

No one said anything. Cassy, Private, Rico, and Kiki were entertaining the humans. Skipper, Destiny, Kowalski, and Nicky were inside sitting at the table. They were talking, randomly moving from one topic to the next. They started with why they had to perform for the humans and somehow got to Destiny and Skipper's relationship and the changes it brought. It was an interesting topic, the only ones who knew a lot about it was Skipper and Destiny.

"Yes, well screaming often causes headaches, which in turn distracts ones focus, making it hard to get things done. Screaming also is not the best way to solve problems. Often times anger and annoyance cause people to scream and yell at each other. Ultimately neither person gets what they want. Screaming does nothing but distract the mind with headaches." Kowalski said intelligently. He looked around at the others. They looked back at him with bored expressions. Skippers told him the words that were said to him daily, speak English. He had too much information stuffed in his brain. Too much unneeded information. He had to stop over explaining things. It seemed to annoy others. It was their loss. Some of the unneeded information that was crammed into his mind was actually quite interesting. Oh well. Their loss. "Screaming gets you nowhere fast." Kowalski simplified. He was getting tired of doing that, having to simplifying things. Another reason why he needed to stop over explaining things.

Nicky stared at him, no wonder Kiki liked him. He was just as annoyingly smart as she was. Though, Nicky hadn't seen or heard Kiki sound nerdy yet. She broke her record, but Nicky was sure that after things calmed down a little nerdy Kiki would return and pack every ones brain with useless and, or, gross information. She had an apprentice now, a partner in nerdy crime. Nicky looked at Destiny. Destiny looked different, like she was bothered. Only, she didn't look bothered. She looked like she was pondering something, trying to figure something out. By the look on her face Nicky figured it wasn't the average everyday Destiny confusion. She was thinking about something serious. Nicky was very curious.

"Loss of concentration, yes. Headache? No." Destiny replied casually. She didn't recall having headaches after arguing with Skipper.

"You mean I didn't give you a headache?" Skipper asked sarcastically. "Because you sure gave me one." He couldn't help it. He had to test her one more time. To see if she really was in control of herself and could take a joke. But he really did doubt that she didn't get a headache after fighting with him. He had gotten them from her. It was annoying really.

Destiny glared at him, she didn't. Honestly, he didn't give her a headache. She was a little annoyed at his sarcasm, but she didn't want to lose it. "Nope, I didn't need screaming to give me a headache. Your normal voice was quite enough." She replied calmly, looking away from him. She knew how bitchy she sounded. She wanted to sound that way.

Skipper was confused and slightly annoyed by her response. She sounded really…girly. Mean girl, girly. She wasn't the type, or didn't come off as the type. That is what confused him. The insult annoyed him, mostly because it was childish. Like a mean school girls comment to a loser. It didn't hurt. It was just annoying. After a few second of pondering what she said, Skipper realized that Destiny was _trying_ to annoy him. It almost worked. Almost. "Ya know, that won't work." He stated, with an amused grin on his face. It was amusing, when he thought about it.

Nicky was confused. These two spoke their own language. It was confusing and hard to follow. Their thoughts were always on the same page, always understanding what the other one meant. Or they were always almost on the same page. But they spoke the same way with mostly the same thoughts. It would be interesting to actually know what was going on inside of their heads. Then her confusion would disintegrate. That would be nice. She didn't say anything, letting the conversation play out, curious to see how it would end.

Kowalski didn't do anything either. He never fully understood Skipper, not really. Skipper was un ordinary, with everything he did. It was confusing, yet interesting at the same time. But right now it was just confusing. And he also wanted to see how this conversation would end.

"What won't?" Destiny asked, playing dumb. She didn't fully understand what she was doing or why, but it was amusing to her. Fun. She was toying with him, and he was toying with her. But they were both failing, neither of them could tick off the other one. Like a game. They were playing a game. Games were fun right?

Skipper couldn't stop the short laugh that escaped his beak. "You're kidding right?" he asked, Though he knew she was. She was faking it. Trying to sound innocent, but she wasn't. She was playing with him, and he was going along with it. But then again, he was toying with her, and he should've expected her to do the same to him.

"What?" She replied with fake innocence. This was very amusing. But it was also a little weird. They were turning out to be more comfortable with each other than acquaintances would be. They were acting like friends instead of acquaintances. The funny thing was, it didn't bother her. She was perfectly fine with being a friend with him.

"Do I really have to explain it to you?" Skipper asked. "I thought you had a brain." He sighed. "Well I guess there was nothing in your skull after all. My first guess was right!" He knew that would play with her mind. He was curious to see if she could take that one, he had to keep himself from laughing though. It was kind of funny.

Kowalski swallowed his laughter, not wanting to interrupt. He couldn't make a sound. If he did, then they would remember that he was there. They seemed to have forgotten, and their conversation was getting more interesting. And amusing.

Nicky knew she couldn't distract them, so she laughed quietly holding her beak shut. They didn't notice her. So the conversation would continue as if she wasn't there.

Destiny glared at him. That one was uncalled for. She felt her cheeks get hot, and felt herself getting frustrated and annoyed. But she didn't yell. No she couldn't. Then he would win, not that they were having a competition. He was trying to get her worked up. But he wouldn't succeed. She noticed that Skipper was staring at her with a '_Well?' _look on his face. She wasn't going to lose it. Not now. She changed her face into a smile. "Well, I think that one was a little uncalled for." She stated calmly.

"The truth is never uncalled for amigo." Skipper replied satisfied. She didn't have a smart remark. No comeback. Ha! But he was curious to find out how this would end. Things might just get even more interesting.

_Oh so he knows some Spanish? _Destiny thought. She knew other languages too. "The truth yes. But you haven't said any truth, copain." Destiny replied. Copain meant friend, like amigo. So they were friends now.

"So you speak French." Skipper said interested. How much did she know? He could speak French too. This might actually be fun. _Let's see what she can do._

"Oui." She replied. She would be surprised if he knew more than three words in French. But she would have to see about that. Let the game begin.

_**AN: Here's what the conversation is. when i learn it in french i will put the french version up untill then...**_

"Well, let's see how much you know" Skipper challenged.

"You know more than I thought. Let's go. Show me what you've got." Destiny counter chalenged.

"Why French? Why not Spanish or German?" Skipper asked. He was surprised he remembered how to speak French. He hadn't spoken the language in years. He hadn't needed to use French. Now he was glad that Manfredi taught him the language

"Because it's a nice language. And not many know it. Other than French citizens anyway. I was hoping you wouldn't know it. But you're smarter than you let on." Destiny replied. French was a language she knew well. But she didn't expect Skipper to know it at all.

"No, I'm not really. You, though, are very secretive. I can tell that there are many things I have yet to find out." Skipper said. She did seem to have many secrets.

"You think I have a lot of secrets? Why are you so curious? Planning anything devious that I should know about?" Destiny was a little shocked by that. Why was he so curious? Destiny asked, curiously. She was curious now. Why was he so curious about her?

"What? No! No, no, no, I was just-" Now Skipper was the one caught off guard. He didn't have any plans, he was just curious. She was hiding a lot of things. He could tell. She still seemed to be holding something back.

Kowalski and Nicky were totally confused. Skipper and Destiny were speaking a completely different language. Neither one of the two knew what that language was. They both knew, however, that they would never know what was being said.

"Well. I'm going topside, this is giving me a headache." Nicky informed. She couldn't take it anymore. If she didn't understand anything, then why listen to the conversation? There was no reason to.

"Might as well. No use staying if you can't understand them." Kowalski agreed, he had a headache also. He didn't want to listen to something that he didn't understand. It was useless and a waste of time. It was also irritating to not know what they were saying.

So they both went up and joined the others in entertaining the humans. It was better than listening to a conversation that they couldn't understand.

"Just being a little too curious." Destiny interrupted. "Don't worry. You'll know me soon enough." She added. He would, if he paid attention.

"That wasn't exactly what I was trying to do." Skipper explained.

"But that's what you did, Skipper." Destiny replied matter-of –factually.

"You want an apology?" Skipper asked with fake sympathy.

"It wouldn't hurt." Destiny replied. But she knew he wasn't going to.

"Too bad. You're not getting one." Skipper snapped.

"I knew that was coming. But." Destiny knew that. But she was still a little annoyed. She would have to really test him now.

"But what?" Skipper asked confused.

"See if you can understand this one." she huffed. "Since you're so good at French it shouldn't be too hard." Destiny challenged.

"I never said that." Skipper objected.

destiny ignored him "Seeing something and hallucinating are the same to some people. Some people chose to believe that a scene drawn up by a certain part of your brain making everything you see real. Other people think that hallucinating is what sick people do. And yet others think it is done by those with more intelligent life. Who use more of their brain. Everyone usually only uses one eighth of your mind's power. If we could use all of our brain then we would be able to levitate things. Complicated yes?" She was sure he wouldn't be able to understand that. Kiki had told her that once. She could translate anything into French faster than you could blink your eye. French was always something that interested her.

She was right. Skipper just stared at her. She knew better than he did. He could pick out words, but a lot of it he missed completely. Years of not using the language hurt his understanding. He couldn't believe she said that, and probably understood every word. He knew what the last sentence said though. That was complicated. Too complicated for him to understand. He knew that it had something to do with brains and peoples thoughts. But that was it. He knew how to answer her, but decided to go back to English. He was tired of searching his mind for the French language. "You got me there." He admitted. "That was…well I couldn't understand any of it." Skipper laughed. He didn't know why he laughed, he just did. He never expected that. She was good, very good. He honestly didn't expect that either. "Outstanding." He added.

Destiny started to laugh with him, she couldn't help it. She knew that he would be able to beat her in another language, but she was better than him with French. She was proud of that. But that wasn't why she was laughing. Not only laughing, but blushing too. What was wrong with her? She never acted like this. Maybe they were becoming more than just acquaintances. Maybe they were becoming friends. It was a little nerve wrecking to think that they had gone from zero to friends in less than a week. No one had ever done that, not with her. It took her well over a week to trust the girls, yet it only took him three days. What-how did that happen? Destiny was very confused. Skipper had to be different than anyone else she had ever met. Three days. It only took him three days. Even though she was only there for a month. She hadn't paid much attention to him. She always thought that he was some sort of spy or master minded world dominator visionary, something evil and dangerous. But it seemed that the only part she got right was the dangerous part, and he could control that. It only took him five minutes to prove she was wrong about him. However, the thought that startled her the most, was the thought that…if it only took him five minutes to change her mind, and three days to go from nothing to a friend, then would he be able to become more? And if so how quickly?

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wasn't an '_if_'. It was a '**when'. **She felt different around him. Comfortable. Safe. Everything that she hadn't felt in such a long time. And the thoughts that ran through her head, he was clever and focused and strong. And his eyes were hypnotizing. And his smug grin was kind of cute. He had control but didn't use it unless there was a problem. He was different. She couldn't get her mind off of him. At least not for the last three days. What was wrong with her? Was she actually falling for this guy?

Skipper was just as confused. Ever since she told him about Mark, that whole conversation, He felt different around Destiny. He noticed more about her, he found himself liking more about her. She had changed, or so it seemed. She was nicer, unless she was training with the girls. She was able to laugh. And man what a laugh. It was soft and happy, even when she really wasn't happy. Her laugh showed her pleasant side. The side that was friendly and not the grouchy side she was showing before. He smile was the same. Whether it was a big happy smile or a friendly grin, it didn't matter, they were both calm, peaceful, and…beautiful. But the image that passed through his mind was her eyes. They were majestic, captivating, magenta colored and beautiful if nothing else. What surprised him wasn't anything about her. It was how fast he'd gotten used to her. How fast they became friends. Forty eight hours ago they were just acquaintances, and seventy two hours ago they were just short of being enemies. He didn't understand how that happened so fast. He never trusted anyone that quickly. He hadn't trusted Destiny until she told him about Mark. Before that he tried to not come in contact with her. Stay as far as possible from her and say the least amount of words to her as possible. Now…he couldn't get her out of his mind. That never happened, not even with the girls that he'd been tricked into dating before. None of them. Could he be falling in love with Destiny? He promised himself he would never again take a chance with love. Maybe Kiki was right. Maybe there was someone out there for him. Maybe that's why he trusted Destiny so easily. Maybe that's why they had gone from nothing to friends in less than a week. He was falling in love with her. And maybe, just maybe…She was falling in love with him too.

_**Sorry if the speaking a different language part was confusing. It helped the story along I think even though i completely failed the french part. feel free to correct me even if there are ten chapters after this just send the corrections in a review! ^^. The next chapter will have the very uneventful Christmas and afterwards and before. I will warn you again. It's not very interesting and probably won't even cover half of the chapter. Just so you don't get your hopes up. Because I would not like to be a hope crusher. **_


	23. kiss of love

Two days later everyone was celebrating Christmas. Nothing happened to anyone, no one fought, it was one of the zoo's un eventful Christmases. The day passed without any incident. There weren't many presents either. Everyone was just gathered around the tree that the humans had set up in the middle of the zoo, and had fun. They just had fun talking and hanging out. Having a break from the normal zoo activity.

But the real fun started December 26th. In the lemur habitat. At eight o'clock, when every human had gone home for the night, even the janitor. That's when the real fun started.

Julian burst through the door of the HQ early in the morning. Everyone was up, but it was still early. No one wanted to deal with Julian, not even Private. "Hello silly penguins," He said happily taking no notice to how annoyed they were to see him.

"What do you want this time Ringtail?" Skipper sighed. He was too tired to deal with Julian so early. He didn't get any sleep last night, but he didn't know why. He didn't have anything to worry about. Nothing specific ran through his mind. Well, except the image of Destiny that had randomly popped into his mind every two minutes. But that was it.

"I am inviting you to my party!" Julian announced jumping and throwing his hands into the air to emphasize his excitement. He didn't have a party yesterday because he knew that no one would come to a party on Christmas. So he was going to have one tonight.

"A party?" Kiki asked, still half asleep. She did like the idea of a party though. Every party had music, and she couldn't stay away from music. Besides, she felt like she needed some form of excitement. From what she'd heard about Julian, any party of his was lively, when everyone was invited that is.

"Yes a party," Julian replied less enthusiastically, "And you have been invited! Ah ha!" he paused, "So are you silly penguins coming?" He asked.

Skipper looked at everyone. They all seemed to be half asleep still, but he could still see that they were curious or interested. He sighed, not really wanting to go. But he wasn't going to keep them from going. And since they were waiting on his answer to decide whether or not they went, he put his annoyance aside. As he had done many times before.

Julian was getting tired of waiting. These guys were taking too long, he was growing very impatient. "SO?" He asked not wanting to spend any more time in the penguins stupid home.

Skipper sighed, "Yeah. I guess we'll go." He wasn't sure how things were going to play out at Julian's party, but he was growing curious himself. It wouldn't be any normal party with the girls there.

"Yay! My party is getting bigger, ah ha!" Julian shouted happily, "When all the peoples go home…the fiesta begins!" He ran out of the HQ excitedly.

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, staring at the door that was still half open from Julian running out.

Destiny was confused at how someone could have so much energy so early in the morning. She could use her mind clearly, and act without a problem. But being so hyper in the morning was virtually impossible for her. "Can you tell me something?" She asked Skipper.

He looked at her. He didn't know what she wanted, but hopefully he could answer her question. "Go for it," He replied calmly.

"Who was he again?" Destiny asked, "And why did you call him Ringtail?" It seemed odd to her that Skipper called him Ringtail. Ringtail had a real name. And whoever he was, he was very annoying.

"That was Julian, you've met before. But he has been good at staying out of our way, surprisingly. He usually doesn't listen when I tell him to do that." Skipper explained. He had told Julian to stay out of the way the day before the girls arrived. But he didn't expect Julian to actually listen to him. "I call him Ringtail because of the ring pattern on his tail. It's very self-explanatory." He started to call Julian Ringtail a while ago. He only uses Julian's real name if he's extremely annoyed or trying to talk to Julian without killing him.

"Why is he so annoying?" Nicky asked. She didn't know anyone who could be so happy in the morning. Julian was a constant annoyance it seemed. And he was always calling himself King, that only added to him being annoying.

"Julian's just energetic." Private replied. He didn't know how to say it. Julian was annoying, but most of it was how awake he seemed all the time. And how he was always acting like he was in charge, even though no one really obeyed him.

"Energetic? No one can possibly have that much energy all the time." Kiki stated. Julian was not just energetic.

"He can. And trust me, after this week, it'll get worse." Skipper warned. Julian would go back to being Julian after the holidays. There was no doubt in Skippers mind that after the holidays Julian would be Julian again. January 15th was Julianuary, to Julian. And he would probably be dancing and blasting music and being annoying all day long. Skipper could feel the headache now.

"What do you mean?" Nicky asked fearfully. "It gets worse?" She didn't like the idea of him getting worse. Julian couldn't possibly get worse.

"Julianuary." Kowalski stated. "January 15th. On that day Julian boasts about himself while parading around the zoo and being ten times more annoying than usual." Kowalski explained. He hated Julianuary. He really didn't like how loud and noisy and just plain annoying Julian got on January 15th. It was simply unbearable.

"Julianuary?" Destiny asked skeptically. It sounded like a made up holiday. And in the time that she had known the guy, Julian probably did make it up. To celebrate himself. The constant gloating and royal act was getting real old. She was tired of him, and it's only been a month since their arrival. Destiny could see how Skipper got annoyed with him so fast. But then… why did he agree to go to the party?

"Yes, Julianuary. You'll see soon enough." Skipper replied. He was dreading the day. Lots of loud, annoying things, including Julian. Stupid stuff really. Annoying.

"Who cares?" Kiki said. "We're attending an after Christmas party!" She said happily. This was no time to be annoyed. Parties were fun.

"God knows we haven't been to one of those in forever." Nicky agreed. They hadn't been to a party in well over a year. They had been trapped by the aquariums new security cameras. Stupid humans finally got smart enough to get a working security system.

"Yeah." Cassy laughed, not really knowing why she laughed. "We need to go and have some fun."

"Loosen up the aching bones." Kiki laughed. She couldn't wait for tonight to come.

Skipper shook his head. These girls were unbelievable. But they seemed happy, so he really didn't care what they thought. They would learn soon enough.

Two hours before the party.

Skipper and Destiny were arguing with everyone else.

"We are not!" Destiny shouted. She wasn't sure if she was right though. She was in between at the moment.

"You are." Kiki argued. They were hiding it. But it was there, because both of their cheeks were red. It was a very slight discoloration, but it was there. And it wasn't anger. If it was anger their cheeks would be angrier, so would their voices.

"Come on, "Nicky said, "You two are falling for each other and you know it." She pushed. It was obvious. They had feelings towards each other. Proof, was in how they were acting now. They could be louder, more objective. But they weren't. Because they were in love. But they hadn't said anything, so they were shy.

"No. You, are just confused. There is no falling in love here." Skipper objected. He didn't know if he was in love. But he couldn't admit it now. He didn't know if Destiny felt the same. Everything would be a waste of time if he admitted to it now. Not to mention the fact that every waking moment they were even near each other would be filled with awkwardness. He couldn't do that. Not to himself and not to Destiny.

"Then why are you two blushing?" Private challenged. They were. It was an obvious blush. Their cheeks were turning a dark pink. If they were mad, then their cheeks would be red.

"We're not…Blushing." Destiny denied. She knew that she was, she knew that she wouldn't be able to prove that she wasn't. But she couldn't say anything while Skipper was there. She might ruin their friendship. If, of course, he didn't feel the same way about her. She was certain now that she was, in fact, falling in love with him. But she wouldn't admit it. Not in front of him.

Nicky chuckled, they were starting to crack. Any minute now they would confess. "You guys are just in denial." She stated. "But you won't be able to hide it forever."

"We will be able to hide it forever." Skipper replied sharply, "Because there's nothing to hide." She was right. He wouldn't be able to hide it forever. Eventually Destiny would find out. Eventually he would have to see if she loved him back. Or if she really, just saw him as a friend.

"We're not in denial." Destiny added.

"MmHmm. Okay." Kiki replied, not believing a single word they said. She had to figure out a way to get them to admit their feelings towards each other. It was there. She was amazed that they hadn't seen it yet. They could talk to each other so easily now, they could ask each other question very easily without any hesitation or thought of sounding weak. It was there, right in front of them/ how could they be so blind?

"How about we make a deal?" Kowalski suggested. He had an idea that would make things a lot easier, if excepted.

Skipper looked at Destiny, who shrugged. "We're listening." He said cautiously. He wasn't sure what this deal might be.

"If we can get Private-" Kowalski started.

"And Cassy." Kiki added.

"And Cassy, up on stage tonight. If we can get them to do a song. Play it or sing it whatever. Then you two," Kowalski smiled at the thought, "Have to kiss."

"And not the tip of the beak kiss either. A real lovey dovey Kiss, kiss." Nicky added.

"Wait! Wait a minute." Cassy interrupted. "I'm not going up on stage. You can't make me do that. I'm going to choke and everyone's going to laugh. Them I'm gonna look like an idiot and no one will ever let me live it down. No. I'm not agreeing to that." She objected. She was a victim of severe stage fright. She couldn't stand on a stage in front of one person. Let alone twenty or fifty. She would die of a heart attack if she had to perform for a live audience of any size shape or species.

Destiny and Skipper shared looks of concern. A kiss? There was no way that would happen without extremely high levels of awkwardness. They couldn't kiss. It was so out of the blue. If they kissed then one of them would immediately fall in love. And who was to say that the other one wouldn't fall in love too? It was too risky.

"And what am I supposed to do?" Private asked fearfully. He wasn't much of a performer either. "I can't get up on stage! Are you crazy!"

"It's not up to the two of you." Kiki replied sternly. She turned to Skipper and Destiny. "It's up to you two." She said calmly. It was up to them whether or not they risked the kiss. Hopefully they would.

"Well. Uh." Destiny hesitated. She didn't want to risk it. But then she wanted to kiss him. Losing a bet and having to kiss wasn't as bad as just kissing him. And who's to say Cassy and Private won't chicken out? They probably would, so why not take a risk?

"Ah.." Skipper didn't know if it was such a good idea either. He wanted to kiss her. And if he lost a bet and had to kiss her then he would be spared the trouble of asking for a kiss. Private had stage fright. He would never go up on stage. Skipper thought that maybe taking a risk wouldn't be so bad. And if he lost, well…then he got to kiss Destiny. It was really a win win situation.

Destiny sighed, to make it look like she really didn't want to, "Fine." She thought that she was very believable.

She was. But Skipper picked up on it. She just wanted to entertain them. Or maybe she was taking a risk like he was. Maybe, she was ok with kissing. "I guess." He sighed. He was hoping he would be wrong about Private. It was up to him and Destiny to make the deal final, but whether or not he and Destiny kissed was up to Private and Cassy.

Destiny hoped she would be able to kiss Skipper. She was curious, and… she wanted to kiss him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe.

"Then it's final." Kowalski said. "If we can get these two on stage, you two have to kiss."

"Just for the record, a real kiss lasts about five to seven seconds, and is more than just the tip of the beak." Kiki informed. She smiled. Tonight would be a very fun, very interesting night for sure. She couldn't wait for the party to begin.

Two hours later…

"Now it's time to go." Kiki said. She had gotten the time wrong three times already. But she was sure she was right this time.

"I'm not sure." Destiny said nervously. She wasn't so sure that she wanted to proceed with the deal anymore. It was a big risk that was being taken. Tonight would be very awkward she was sure of it.

"Oh just go and have fun." Nicky replied, pulling Destiny out. She highly doubted Cassy would actually get up on stage. But she wanted to see the two kiss. They were in love. They were both falling for each other, it was obvious. But they didn't know. A kiss would let them know.

Destiny knew that Cassy had stage fright. But she couldn't help worrying about what would happen if Cassy actually got up on stage. She was afraid of kissing Skipper now. What if she messed up…somehow? What if everyone was watching? What if he didn't like her the way she liked him? What if her heart was broken again? She wouldn't be able to fix it this time. She never felt this way before. She didn't want to burden him, so she wouldn't tell him, but he was her last risk. She would have to cage herself if things didn't work out. But she would have to see. She would have to take a few risks. This was risk number two. Maybe she was finally falling for the right guy.

Skipper acted calm. He acted as if he thought Private or Cassy were going to chicken out and he had nothing to worry about. That was exactly the opposite of how he felt. He was just good at hiding it. He didn't want to look nervous, he didn't want to even seem as nervous as he really was. He was extremely nervous. If things didn't work out then he and Destiny wouldn't be able to cooperate. They wouldn't be able to be in the same room without feeling awkward. And Skipper didn't want that. He didn't want to be the one with a broken heart. Nor did he want that on Destiny's conscience. If he had learned anything from love, even if it was watching others fall in love or maintain love, it was that love came by taking risks. You never knew if someone loved you unless you took a risk. Or if someone took a risk. Half of him hoped that Cassy and Private would be able to get up on stage. A kiss would be the risk that would finally let him know if she felt the same way about him. Then he could stop worrying. As for the picture that harassed his mind… that might never go away. And he was perfectly fine with that, confirming the fact that he had fallen for her. In a few hours he would know. His heart was racing, he felt a million butterflies in his stomach. He only had two, very conflicting hopes. He hoped that he would have to kiss Destiny, and that everything went perfectly. And then he hoped that he didn't have to kiss her, because a friendship was better than nothing at all.

They walked to the lemur habitat in silence.

Cassy was holding Privates flipper nervously. She wanted Destiny to find someone who cared about her. But she didn't want to kill herself helping. She had to at least try. And that is what she was determined to do.

Private happily accepted Cassy's flipper for he too was quite nervous. He didn't know what to do. He's never done anything quite like this before. But he was willing to give it a shot. Skipper was always wanting them to be happy, and trying his best to help them be happy. Now it was his turn to make Skipper happy.

Kiki was excited for two reasons. Cassy had agreed to give performance a try. And parties made her happy. Unless something went wrong tonight she would be pretty content for the rest of the week. She grabbed Kowalski's arm to keep her from going ballistic.

Kowalski didn't mind. Just being with Kiki was a good time for him. It was an odd feeling. He was perfectly content if she was around. It didn't matter if he was looking for something or cleaning or blowing himself up, he didn't get frustrated around her. He couldn't explain it. It was like all he really needed was her. Old folk tale love stories did have some true words in them.

Skipper was still maintaining his calm attitude. And likewise, was still extremely nervous on the inside, mind boggled and second guessing himself.

Destiny had gotten n a calm attitude herself. Making herself seem completely mellow. She was anything but.

The lemur habitat looked like the perfect party place. They had done a lot in one hour. The fence that surrounded the habitat was covered completely by ribbons, garland, and lights that it didn't even look like a fence. The bounce house had to be stuffed with lights because it lit up like a multi colored light bulb. The bar was all set up with lights hanging across the counter and garland wrapped around the stools. It looked like a real party bar. The plateau, where Julian's throne usually sits, was set up like a stage. It had red curtains hung on a bamboo frame. Wires were running under the sides of the curtains so something was behind it. Probably a microphone and a boom box. There were other tables set up along the sides with snacks on them, fruit to fish, every animals snack was on a table somewhere. There were even peanuts for Burt. The habitat had a balloon roof. Thousands of balloons were just floating above the habitat, they weren't flying away either. They were probably tied down somewhere. Strobe lights were already running, flashing on and off in many different colors reflecting off of the balloons. The reflections danced across the floor giving off a disco ball effect.

It was still the day after Christmas, so there was a strand of red and green lights that ran along the top of the curtains. The entrance to the habitat was through a balloon arc. All in all, it was one of Julian's best party decorations.

Kiki was amazed. Julian, and the other two lemurs, really knew how to decorate. It looked amazing. All of the colors and loops and balloons. There were so many balloons. She couldn't believe they could do so much in one hour. These lemurs were talented. She couldn't help herself. Still holding onto Kowalski's arm, she ran into the habitat.

"GAHH!" Kowalski shouted as he was ripped off his feet and basically dragged into the lemur habitat. He did not expect that. He didn't even know Kiki _could_ pull him off his feet. He felt like he was skipping the entire way as he tried to regain stability on his feet.

Nicky burst out laughing. "Kiki slow down!" she hollered, unable to stop her laughter, "You're going to kill the guy." It was quite humorous to see Kiki half drag Kowalski into the lemur habitat. She would've expected Kowalski to stand his ground. But he didn't. And to Nicky, it was funny. He looked like he was skipping. And she wasn't the only one. Rico was laughing too. She looked over at him, still laughing. Yeah. He was a keeper.

Rico personally thought it was funny to see Kowalski ripped off his feet. How unexpected it was just added to it. He thought that he would fall over from laughter. It wasn't really all _that_ funny. But it was still funny. And he couldn't stop laughing.

Cassy was amazed by how many balloons there were, and how the lights were reflecting off of them like a disco ball. It was amazing to her. She'd never seen anything like it. She walked towards the habitat staring at the many balloons in awe.

Private followed closely, still holding her flipper. He stayed silent and let everything sink in. Julian had really outdone himself this time.

Destiny chuckled. Kowalski should've been warned. Poor guy, Kiki was a little bit over excited. Maybe she wasn't. Kiki was a party person, loved parties. Not being able to go to one in a year had to build up energy. For Kiki it did anyway. She was smart, sometimes shy, and at times energetic. Mostly at parties or dances. She was glad the Cassy was hypnotized by the balloons. She wouldn't be looking at faces when, and if, she went on stage. Destiny wasn't even sure that there would be one. But there was. She started to walk towards the balloon arc entrance of the habitat, running many different scenarios of how this night would end.

Skipper far behind Destiny, rolling his eyes as he passed Nicky and Rico. They were laughing like hyenas. He had to admit, Ringtail had really out done himself this time. The disco effect from the balloons and strobe lights, even alone they would've been good decorations. But the disco effect they made together was amazing. All of the decorations were pretty good. Skipper annualized the balloon arc as he walked through it. Maurice. Maurice probably did all of the balloons. And more. He felt kind of bad for Maurice. But if Maurice wanted to stay with Julian than he could.

Destiny sat down on one of the stools at the bar. She didn't feel like she was in the zoo anymore. Music had started to play since she entered. It was loud, hip hop, or dance. Many of the animals had arrived and were dancing now. The balloons reflection of light made for the perfect dance floor. She felt like she was in a club or pub, or even a dance house. Everyone was dancing and seemingly having a good time. She liked it too. The loud music was all she could hear, and flashing lights were all she could see. When she closed her eyes she could still see the lights flashing on and off. The constant beat and sound, even though it was so loud, actually helped her escape into her own thoughts. Escape into her mind.

She pictured him, staring at her lovingly with his deep sapphire eyes. Staring at her with his crooked smile. She could imagine how nice he actually looked when she pictured him like that. Handsome too. Skipper was, or could be, by definition a gentleman. He could be polite, well mannered, and courteous to others. He could be. She'd seen it. He had been polite to the others when his patience was running thin. Well mannered…meh, he had the potential. But he had been courteous. She remembered thinking that he was, but she couldn't remember why… She couldn't get that picture out of her head now. Skipper looking at her with half open, love filled eyes and his crooked smile. It had a calming sense to it.

Skipper also sat at the bar area. He didn't know what he felt. He felt nervous, but strangely calm at the same time. It was weird. He was nervous about…everything. Mostly about Destiny though. He was still worried about whether or not she had any feeling greater than friendship towards him. If she liked him. _Like_ liked him. But he was calm, as if something inside his mind told him to take a deep breath. Something inside of him told him that everything was going to work out. Everything was going to be ok. He decided not to think. Not to be calm or worried about anything. He decided to listen. He closed his eyes, but the blinking from the strobe lights shone through his eyelids, and listened to the beat of the music. He let nothing else catch his attention, not the laughter, or other voices, not the tapping of feet, not the sound of glass hitting the wooden counter, nothing. He stayed that way for a little, until he heard snapping.

Destiny was also being snapped at. It woke her from her inner mind hibernation.

It was Maurice. He was leaning over the bar countertop, snapping in front of their faces to get their attention.

Once he had their attention her moved back behind the counter and handed each of them a coconut glass with red fruit punch in it. "You two looked bothered." He explained, "So here, drink some punch." He smiled at them.

"What will punch do?" Destiny asked confused. Punch was just a nice tasteful beverage. What could it possibly help with?

"I don't know. But people who drink it feel better afterwards. Maybe it's magic." Maurice shrugged. He really didn't know. But people seemed a little more relaxed after drinking it, and they looked like they could use it. He walked to the other end of the bar to fix up some more drinks for other thirsty people. He didn't mind being stuck serving beverages at the bar, he wasn't much of a partier anyway.

Skipper took a sip of the punch. It had flavor to it. It wasn't your ordinary everyday fruit punch. There was something in it. A zesty, lively sort of flavor. He felt a little calmer. It was strange. Maybe it really was magic. But he still couldn't calm all of his nerves. He still felt very nervous about one thing. Destiny.

Destiny didn't know if she should drink it right away. She wasn't sure if it was safe. After Skipper took a sip of his, she did the same. If he drank it she could. These lemurs were probably not smart enough to poison their drinks anyway. It had a nice flavor to it. A blast of flavor. She did feel a little bit relaxed. But she couldn't stop thinking about him. Her last risk. Her last hope. Hopefully, the only one that will ever work out.

Skipper looked over at Destiny. She looked over at him. It was the first time that they realized that they were sitting right next to each other. They had both been zoned out for most of the night that they didn't take notice to their surroundings.

"OKAY! PEOPLES!" Julian shouted turning off the music. He grabbed the mic, "NOW! It is time for the live performances! Who will go first?" Julian asked.

The question hung in the air for a few seconds.

Cassy didn't want to get up on stage. She would make a total fool of herself. Then again, preforming with Private could be fun. She could always just look up at the many, many balloons. She took a deep breath. "WE will!" She yelled out.

Privates eyes grew wide. She said we. Not I, we. He was going to go up with her. What was he going to do? The only thing he could play was a sound machine. That was it. He never learned to play anything else.

"Ohh. Give it up Peoples for the little penguin girl and her bf. Heh heh heh." Julian announced. "Now you two…must…Sing!" Julian explained. "Yes you must sing a song together!" he motioned for them to come up.

Cassy firmly grabbed Privates hand for support. She was scared. But she was going to do this before she changed her mind.

Once on stage,

"Julian I can't sing." Private whispered to Julian.

"What do you mean silly penguin? Everybody can sing." Julian protested. He wanted to hear two penguins sing.

"Do you by any chance have a sound machine? Or a music mixer whatever you wanna call it?" Private asked in desperation.

Julian sighed. "I will be back silly penguin." He jumped off stage and came back with a Dj music mixer board. There were piano keys, places where a cd could be placed and many buttons that did certain things. He wanted to hear the penguin sing. But watching him play a weird machine would have to be enough.

Cassy told Private what she wanted to sing. He knew the song. So he agreed to play it. He could put the guitar part on repeat once he played it once. He could do the same with the drums. He could do the rest manually. It wouldn't be too hard. He was still nervous.

Cassy took the mic and tried not to think about the minor heart attack she was currently having. She took several deep breaths. She looked up at the balloons, calming down enough to sing. She looked at Private and nodded. Then they started.

Private hit the button that turned the piano keys into Guitar notes and began, adding each part as it was supposed to come in.

"Sparks fly, it's like electricity I might die, when I forget how to breathe. You get closer and there's nowhere, in this world I'd rather be. Time stops. Like everything around me, is frozen. And nothing matters but these, few moments when you open, my mind to things I've never seen. Cuz when I'm kissing you my senses come alive. Almost like the puzzle piece I've been trying to find. Falls right into place. You're all that it takes. My doubts fade away when I'm kissing you. When I'm kissing you it all starts making sense. And all the questions I've been asking in my head. Like are you the one, should I really trust? Crystal clear it becomes when I'm kissing you. Past loves, they never got very far. Walls up. Make sure I guarded my heart. And I promised I wouldn't do this, till I knew it was right for me. But no one, no guy that I've met before, could make me, feel so right and secure. And have you noticed I lose my focus, and the world around me disappears. Cuz when I'm kissing you my senses come alive. Almost like the puzzle piece I've been trying to find, Falls right into place you're all that it takes. My doubts fade away when I'm kissing you. When I'm kissing you it all starts making sense. And all the questions I've been asking in my head. Like are you the one should I really trust? Crystal clear it becomes when I'm kissing you. I've never felt nothing like this. You're making me open up. No point in even trying to fight this. It kinda feels like it's love. Cuz when I'm kissing you my senses come alive. Almost like the puzzle piece I've been trying to find, Falls right into place you're all that it takes. My doubts fade away when I'm kissing you. When I'm kissing you it all starts making sense. And all the questions I've been asking in my head, Like are you the one should I really trust. Crystal clear it becomes when I'm kissing you" Cassy sang. She didn't mess up. Not once! She did perfect. Private did too. They both did excellent.

Everyone applauded. Everyone loved them. all except two that is. Skipper. And Destiny.

Skipper and Destiny shared looks of fear. Now they had to kiss. For five seconds minimum. Now would be the moment when they would find out.

Kiki, Nicky, Kowalski, and Rico were immediately surrounding Skipper and Destiny. So they couldn't make a break for it. Cassy and Private soon joined them with accomplished smiles on their faces. They were all smiling at Skipper and Destiny.

"First things first here." Destiny improvised, not fully read to kiss Skipper quite yet. "Back up." She pushed all of the backwards. "And second. You guys look quite evil." They did. She wasn't lying. To her they looked like they were smiling evilly.

"They are." Skipper agreed. He wasn't quite ready to kiss Destiny just yet either.

But they didn't have a choice.

"You two made a deal." Cassy responded strongly.

"So cut the improvising crap and get to the kiss already." Nicky snapped.

Skipper and Destiny looked at each other from the corners of their eyes. Nerves bubbling up in their stomachs, millions of knots forming, butterflies swarming in their stomachs, and fire behind their cheeks. Now. It had to happen now or it would be forced to happen. Both of them had no doubts in their minds that if they didn't kiss voluntarily. they would be forced into a kiss.

Destiny knew that she didn't have any more time to think anything over.

Skipper knew the same.

The turned towards each other, and traded nervous smiles.

A deals a deal right?  
In one swift movement, Skipper and Destiny had their beaks intertwined in a kiss. Keeping true to their word.

Skipper had never had a kiss quite like this before. It was sweet, soft, and felt…normal. All of his nervousness vanished into thin air. He didn't care if she felt the same way at the moment. He was kissing her. And that was all that mattered. Because he loved her. Whether she would ever find out or not. He loved her more than he had loved anything else in his entire life. Because she was different from everyone else. He closed his eyes, not wanting to ever let go of this moment.

Destiny had been fooled. Kissed with kisses that were lovely and sweet. But nothing compared to this. It wasn't just sweet. It felt more elegant, like he was being careful. _He's holding back._ Destiny realized. She couldn't think about it though, at that moment of realization, everything faded away. It was just her and Skipper. And she knew. She loved him. She closed her eyes as well. She loved him.

"One, two, three," Kiki counted, smiling. They all were. They would make such a cute couple if they ever got together.

"Four, five. Okay, you can stop now." Kiki informed.

But they didn't. Neither one of them even heard Kiki counting.

Cassy covered her beak in disbelief. They were still kissing. It was like they didn't even hear Kiki count.

Kiki and Nicky both laughed in disbelief. They knew it. The denial was just an act. They knew it, they just knew it.

Giant smiles ran across Rico, Kowalski, and Private's faces. They all knew it was just an act. They were both blind.

They continued to kiss, passed ten seconds, and fifteen seconds. Eyes closed, calmer than they had been all night.

For them, time stood still, everything stopped and nothing else mattered but their embrace. Everything faded away. The music that had resumed blasting, the laughter from everyone as the danced, the laughs of disbeliefs from the girls, the feel of the stools that they were sitting on as the kissed. They didn't hear anything, or see anything. And the only thing they felt was the calm beating of their hearts.


	24. missunderstanding

Skipper and Destiny kissed for forty six seconds before they broke apart, opening their eyes a second afterwards. And everything came rushing back. All sound and sight.

Skipper didn't know what was wrong with him. If he felt a pull towards Destiny before, that was nothing compared to how he felt now. He could've sworn he felt something. She loved him back. But how was he supposed to ask her? They couldn't just be friends now. He had to get his thoughts together. But his mind was still caught in the bliss of that kiss. Still racing from how magical it was. Caught breathless by it. It was so perfect, lovely. Loving.

He looked at Destiny. She looked… relaxed, and happy.

Nicky waited for them to separate. And even longer for them to come back to earth. But then she couldn't help it anymore. "I knew it!" She shouted happily. She smiled, she knew she was right. Destiny and Skipper were in love.

That shocked Destiny. She didn't realize they were still there, watching her and Skipper. She'd forgotten all about them. Up until Nicky had said something Destiny had only noticed Skipper. He was looking at her so calmly, peacefully. It looked like he was…in love…With her. Skipper was in love with her. She knew it then, right then and there. But she didn't _fully_ believe it. She had to hear it.

"No." Skipper said. He heard Nicky. He didn't want to say it in front of them. But there was something else. He didn't know _how_ to say it. If he just said it then he would sound hurried. Almost desperate for her to know. He didn't know how to tell her that he love her. He definitely couldn't say it here.

"No?" Destiny asked confused, "No what?" He didn't know what he was talking about. No, as in no he didn't lover her he just wanted to kiss her? No as in all this time it was all just an act? No as in, her heart had been played again? No, he didn't love her? And never did?

"Dude, what the heck are you talking about?" Nicky asked. She was confused, and worried, and repulsed at what that could've meant. If he meant no as in it wasn't right, no as in he didn't love Destiny after kissing her like that, then he was going to lose about every god dam feather on his body. He lead her on. He made them all believe that he loved her. What a freaking jerk.

Destiny didn't want to hear it. Right now she just wanted to go somewhere and cry. She had fallen for it again. What was it? Why couldn't she fall in love with someone who would actually love her back? Why did she have to always fall for the heartbreakers? Why couldn't anyone love her back? Why did Skipper act the way he did and do what he did and kiss her like that if he didn't love her back? Why? Why did she fall for such a jerk? Again?

Skipper saw Destiny's eyes get glossy, he saw water gathering in her eyes. No. that's not what he meant. No, no, he didn't want her to cry. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He meant no as in not here not now. Not that he didn't love her. He couldn't just tell her he didn't love her. For two reasons. One he did in fact love her, and two, he would've lead her on if he just told her that he didn't love her.

"No, that's not what I meant." Skipper said startled. He didn't know how to fix this. It was now or never. She had to know before she-

Destiny got up and ran away. No, he couldn't be another liar. She didn't make that mistake again. She ran out of the lemur habitat. He was just like all the others. But then…why did she feel so broken? Why did she feel so heart sick? It was the worse heart sickness that she had ever felt. He broke her heart for the last time. And now she would never heal. She truly believed that he was the one. The one guy that would love her for her. Not because he wanted a kiss or a hug or something pathetic. Everything felt so natural, like that's how it was supposed to be. Like he was meant for her. But he wasn't. Nothing was supposed to be that way. Just like there were no prince charming's, or superhero's, there was no one who would ever just love her. No one ever had. Why would someone love her now?

"Wait! Destiny!' Skipper jumped up to chase her. But her was hit in the face before his feet even touched the ground. He flew into the counter and landed on his behind against the counter. He looked up. Nicky was holding a crowbar and looked very pissed off. Behind her Kiki and Cassy were standing with flippers in fists, ready to pummel him to death. And behind them, were the guys, who also looked mad, but disappointed too. But they didn't know. He had to find Destiny and explain before it was too late. He didn't have time for this.

Skipper got up and tried to reason with them. "Look, I know that probably didn't come out the way it was supposed to, but if you don't let me go after her, she's never going to know-" Skipper couldn't finish, Nicky wacked him with the crowbar again. This time he flipped over the counter to the other side.

"Bull. Destiny knows quite enough you freaking jerk." Nicky spat hatefully. "Who the hell do you think you are huh? She fell in love with you. You lead her on! You acted like you were her friend." Nicky leaned over the counter, "News flash, heartbreaker! Friends don't do that!" She hit him with the crowbar again.

Skipper's head flew to the ground. She used the sharper side that time. That one really hurt. He had to get out of here. They didn't understand. He had to find Destiny and explain. They needed to let him go get her. But they weren't going to. They were going to beat him to a pulp. Or death, whichever came first.

The girls jumped over the counter as Skipper got up. He was going to pay for that. Destiny fell for him. He was supposed to do the same. He just wanted a kiss, what the heck was that? Destiny didn't need him. She was better off without him.

They were going to kill him. Literally.

Skipper needed to find a way out. If he didn't find an escape then he was going to die. And then Destiny would never know. If he was going to die, he had to set things straight first.

He turned and ran towards the other side of the bar. He jumped out when he reached the end and continued running. He ran around the habitat until he found the exit. The girls were right behind him the whole time. Anger made peoples agility and endurance better.

He was coming up on the balloon arc when the idea hit him. He jumped up and grabbed a balloon as her ran under the arc. The arc came down, and everyone who was chasing him ran into it. The balloon arc acted like a sling shot. The girls, and apparently the guys too, were flung out of the zoo.

Skipper wasn't worried about them. The six of them were together, they could figure out how to get back by themselves. He had to get to Destiny before it was too late. He had to tell her. If he was too late. Then he really would be a heartbreaker, a jerk. He didn't want to break Destiny's heart. That's exactly the opposite of what he wanted. But Destiny probably wouldn't believe him. She would just run away from him like she did before. Run away and hide and cry. And he wouldn't blame her. He was supposed to tell her right then and there that he loved her. He was supposed to be the brave one who just threw it out there. But those three words seemed so hard to say. I love you. Three stupid words. Stupid words with a lot of heart behind them. his heart. His entire heart.

Skipper had been looking for Destiny. He stopped and hung his head. He had been selfish, he was afraid of his own heart being broken that he didn't even consider what would happen if Destiny loved him and he said nothing. They were right. He was a jerk, a heartbreaker, and if Destiny was his friend, then the worst friend on the planet. He was supposed to say those words. But he didn't. and now that's all he wanted to do. But she wouldn't believe him. Not now. Not after what he'd just done. No, she won't even talk to him now. Skipper knew that.

But he still had to try. He ran around a corner and almost ran into Destiny.

She was angry to see him. Tears were pouring out of her eyes, she felt terribly heart broken. But she only felt angered with him. Extremely angry at him. He played her. He lead her on. He was just like all the rest. A jerk, a player, a heartbreaker. She was right. She had been right all along. Boys were not to be trusted. Why didn't he just leave her alone? What more could he possibly do?

"Destiny, I-" Skipper started.

"You what?" Destiny hissed through a cracked voice. "Are you going to apologize? Ask to just be friends? Say that you-you don't want me to be here anymore? Huh? What? Are you going to have me transferred now? Jerk!" She had been lied to lead on and heartbroken before. She knew what happened next. She wasn't a moron.

"Destiny please listen to me." Skipper pleaded. He wanted her to know. He wanted her to just pause for a second and let him explain. His heart was cracking just looking at her right now. He wanted to fix that. But he wouldn't be able to unless she listened to him. And he knew that she wasn't going to.

"No Skipper." She replied, her voice still cracked from crying. "I'm done listening to anything you say. It was all just a bunch of lies. You're no better than any other boy in the world. How could I be so blind. Leave me alone Skipper." She turned away from him, she didn't want to see his face anymore.

"Destiny-"

"Leave me alone!" She shouted.

She ran away from him. She couldn't stand being around him right now. She could find a way to exist here somehow. But right now she just wanted to be far away from him. Just seeing his face made her heart weep. He was her last chance, and he blew it. Her heart was officially caged. She went up to the clock tower and sat under the bell. A few minutes later it started raining.

Skipper didn't move. He tried not to, because he didn't have the right to. But he couldn't. he felt heartbroken. Not nearly as much as Destiny had to be feeling. But it was still there. Still pushing water to his eyes. why didn't he say something? Why didn't he tell her? Even if she wasn't going to listen, why didn't he at least try? Why couldn't he tell her?

He walked over to a wall and sat down. He wanted them to kill him now. He deserved it. He deserved to get his head bashed in by a crowbar. He wanted it to happen, there was no way he could straighten things out now. He ran out of time. Destiny would never listen to him. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He ruined everything. He ruined what could have been, and probably would've been, a perfect relationship, with the perfect girl. Destiny wasn't perfect, she had her flaws of course. But she still had a magnetic pull to her, and even though she was beautiful, beauty had little to do with why he fell in love with her. She was clever, stubborn, she stood up for what she believed, she could be very persuasive. Her whole personality attracted Skipper to her.

_Then why can't you say it?_ Skipper asked himself. If he loved her, which he did, and loved her for her, then why couldn't he tell her that? Skipper wasn't going to give up. But what was he supposed to do?

Destiny didn't know why she couldn't stop crying. She always stopped after a little while. She was always able to tell herself that she would find the perfect guy one day, that this one wasn't it. Why was Skipper so different? She had checked the clock three times. She had been crying for three hours now. She really hoped he'd be the one. He was calmer than all the others, more in control. He had a natural charm, a personality that was different. She liked it. Until today. She didn't want to kill him. Not like she wanted to kill the other guys. She still wanted him to love her, that's why she didn't want to be around him. She wanted to get over him.

He still had to tell her. Whether she listened or not, he had to say those three words. And he was going to. He was just going to find her, walk up to her and say it. What she did with his words was up to her. But he couldn't take it. He felt terrible, sick, like he had just killed half a million people. If his heart was hurting this much…then Destiny's was obliterated. He had to try to fix that. At least one more time. He had to be brave this time. Tell her the truth, hopefully he would be able to. He wanted this to work, maybe Destiny would give him a second chance. Maybe he didn't totally mess things up after all. But he had to tell her first. After he told her, well what happened next was up to her. Hopefully he would get the second chance he needed to fix things. Hopefully.

He got up and went to the clock tower. It was often used as a point of refuge. A sanctuary where you could just sit, think, and calm down. He thought that he would find her there. But when he climbed to the top of the tower, no one was there. It was deserted. Only the rain was pounding on the hard surface. It was raining very hard now, it almost felt like hail. No wonder no one was out on the clock tower. The only cover on the tower was the bell.

The bell. Skipper bent down and looked under the rim of the bell. He didn't walk up to the bell, he stood out in the rain and tried to looked under it. Sure enough, someone was there. A penguin, Destiny. She was in the bell. Great. He knew where she was, and what he needed to say. Now he had to act. He opened his beak…and froze. Again. He wanted to tell her. Badly, he wanted to tell her. But he didn't know how.

_Say it. Just say it. Just say it. Just say it._ He told himself, taking a deep breath. Just say it. "Destiny?" he called to the bell. He didn't expect to get a reply. He knew she hated him, she had every right and reason to. "I need to explain something to you." He started. It was a good start, but he still needed to explain. He decided to let his beak run. Things worked out well sometimes when he did that. And he was feeling too nervous to organize his thoughts. So he just…spoke. "Um…I'm, I'm sorry Destiny. I don't know what else to say."

Destiny knew what was coming next. He was going to tell her that it wouldn't have worked. They were opposites and all that. It would only make things worse. She didn't need it. She was going to scream at him. Scream with all of the hatred in her heart at him. But he spoke first.

"And I know you've hear those words a lot, but I don't know what else to say." Skipper sighed. He didn't want her to hate him. He didn't care if she never looked at him again. But he didn't want her to hate him. He wanted her to know the truth. "I-I think you misunderstood something." Skipper took a deep breath. Now, he had to tell her now. "When I said 'no' before, I didn't mean for you to think that I didn't," Skipper paused, this was harder than he thought it would be. He thought that if he could just say it, he could say it without hesitation. He couldn't just say it. He didn't have the skill of just blurting things out like that. And he had to find the right word. "Care about you." He took another deep breath. Expression of feeling was never something Skipper was good at, but he could put this up with one of the most difficult things he had ever done. "Destiny I can't say that I think I love you." Skipper admitted.

"Of corse not. You don't think you love me." Destiny snapped, trying successfully to keep her voice calm.

"You're right. I don't _think_ I love you." He paused. He didn't want to hesitate saying it. It was hard, yes. But if he hestitated, then he would sound like he didn't mean anything that he had just said to her. And he meant every word. Every word was spoken from heart and not mind. "Destiny, I love you. I know I love you. When I said no I meant not there. Not in middle of a party. It was too many people." Skipper had expected to hear some remark. But he didn't. "You know what Destiny, fine. I couldn't say that I loved you because I froze." Skipper admitted, fading out on 'because I froze.

Destiny heard everything. But she was dreadfully confused. He loved her. He, Skipper, lover her, Destiny. She finally found a guy who loved her back. Truly loved her back. And she would've acted happier, if Skipper hadn't continued. "What was that last part?" She asked, curiously. She couldn't make out what he said. Maybe it was the bell.

"I froze." Skipper mumbled. He was embarrassed to say it.

Destiny came out of the bell. Maybe it was the rain. It was raining very, very hard. And standing out in the pouring rain was Skipper. Destiny knew exactly why he was up here. He was coming to explain himself. More importantly, to confess his love. She thought it was charming of him not to give up on the confession. But that last part still caught her attention more than the confession.

"What was it again?" She asked, again. It was weird, she was usually good at hearing everything, even in the rain.

"I said," Skipper said clearly, "I froze." He faded away.

"You what?" Destiny asked, still unable to hear the last word. He was deliberately making it hard for her to understand. She glared at him, he really needed to speak up.

"froze." Skipper mumbled. He really didn't want to tell her. It was weak, he didn't expect to feel so nervous, not right after he kissed her. Maybe a little later.

"Oh for Pete's sake Skipper." Destiny replied annoyed, "Just say it!" She was tired of asking.

"Fine! I said I froze alright? I couldn't say it." Skipper snapped.

Destiny was shocked. Skipper didn't seem like the type to freeze, he seemed too strong to freeze. Mentally strong. Despite herself, Destiny burst out laughing. Skipper really had good timing, that was a good thing. She needed it, the laughter. She needed to be so shocked that her mind shorted out. Skipper just did that, he just shocked her mind into shorting out. Three hours of crying and trying to figure out what she did wrong, she was still mad at him for making her go through that. But that was over ridden by the pure joy he just gave her. She knew it, it was in the kiss. He loved her, she should've let him speak. Heartbreaks will cloud your mind for a few hours, or days. For her, it was hours. It would've been days if Skipper hadn't come and found her, to confess. The confession really blew her mind. She didn't know how to react. She was overjoyed, more than overjoyed, ecstatic about him loving her back. He was the first guy that had ever loved her, for real, for who she was. She had been searching, and Kiki had been right. Because the minute she stopped looking, love smacked her dead in the face. She smiled at him, knowing that now he was hers.

Skipper was happy. Glad that he fixed his mistake, and Destiny's heart. Even better was the fact that she was still in love with him. They loved each other. She loved him for who he was, which for Skipper was un heard of in a female penguin. And he definitely loved her for being Destiny. Destiny was different, good different. And he loved her for it. It was her whole personality that he had fallen for. He would have to see if it was worth it, but he had no doubts. Destiny had made it clear without even meaning to. She was difficult at times, yes, but flexible too. She knew how to regulate things. And like him, though he had only seen it once and she was training the girls, she was persuasive and a good negotiator. Their love was definitely going to be interesting. He was glad that Destiny chose to forgive him. He had longed for someone who wouldn't use him, and now he had someone. He was perfectly happy at the moment.

But he was still curious. "So, um… does that mean you don't hate me?" Skipper asked, just to make sure.

Destiny smiled, perfect question. And she had the perfect answer. She walked over to him, and they kissed.

It was almost as good as their first kiss. But you know what they say, the first kiss is usually the best.

This kiss lasted longer than their first kiss though.

Destiny pulled away, "Does that answer your question?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, that answers it pretty well." Skipper replied.

Destiny leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. Blissful. She felt so blissful. Never before had she felt so calm, and…protected. She felt completely protected, safe.

Skipper peacefully accepted Destiny's head on his shoulder, and rested his head on hers, wrapping his arms around her. He loved her. The weirdest part was, this, the way they were, felt natural, like she was supposed to be in his arms, her head on his shoulder. That's how it was supposed to be. He didn't quite understand it. But he was perfectly fine with this being the way it was supposed to be.

Destiny was too.

Because he loved her.

And she loved him.

He was hers.

She was his.

They had both, finally found their match.


	25. Nervous Musicians

Nicky, Rico, Kowalski, Kiki, Cassy, and Private jumped over the far wall of the zoo into the zoo.

"I can't believe it took you guys three hours to get us home." Nicky growled. She would've thought that they'd be back in an hour, hour and a half maybe. But three hours? These guys were supposed to know NYC like the back of their flippers. "Don't you guys know the map of the city by heart?"

"You want the truth? No." Kowalski replied. He was embarrassed to say it, but he was too tired to acknowledge his embarrassment. "Skipper's always making sure we don't get lost. It's hard to learn a map by heart if you don't need it all the time."

"Doesn't he ever let you venture out on your own?" Kiki asked skeptically. Skipper was really a control freak if he didn't let them out enough to get to know the city.

"Well of course he does. That's how we knew where we were when we took you guys out. We just don't know all the back roads, and cross roads, and side roads like Skipper does." Private snapped. He was still very disappointed by Skipper. He always thought of Skipper as a good guy. Not a player.

"I still want to kill him." Nicky hissed. "When I get my hands on him… ooo-ooo! He's dead!" She hadn't calmed down yet. Skipper needed to be taught a lesson. You can't just break a girl's heart and fling her friends out of the area. It was just wrong on so many levels.

Cassy looked up at the clock tower. It was almost four o'clock in the morning. She sighed and looked at the ground. Was it really four o'clock? She reimagined the clock in her head. It had said four o'clock. But she remembered something else. She looked up at the clock. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Her eyes didn't deceive her, there were two figures on the clock tower. She had to squint to see who it was, she was surprised to say the least. It was Skipper and Destiny…and they were kissing. That was the last thing Cassy thought they would be doing. Skipper broke Destinies heart. Why were they kissing?

"No Kiki." Nicky said angrily, "I'm going to kill him. I swear. Just give me ten seconds with him and I'll-"

"I think you'll have to wait for your turn Nick." Cassy interrupted, still staring at the clock tower in shock. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing.

They all looked at her confused.

"Cass?" Kiki asked confused, why did Nicky need to wait her turn? "What are you talking about?"

Cassy turned them and smiled happily. It had to be true, Destiny and Skipper were kissing, which meant that Skipper actually _did_ love her, which meant they were together, a couple. And a cute one at that. She couldn't find the words to say, so she pointed.

Kiki looked towards whatever Cassy pointed to. It was the clock tower. No, not the clock tower, what was on the clock tower. No, who was on the clock tower. She was severely confused at first. But after a moment of looking and trying to figure out what she was staring at, Kiki realized what she was looking at. She was staring at Skipper and Destiny…kissing.

"Is that?" Kiki asked. Still not sure if she was seeing things or not.

"Yup." Cassy replied happily. "Oh I knew it wasn't true."

"What wasn't true?" Private asked.

"Skipper." Cassy answered. She knew Skipper wasn't a heartless idiot. She knew he had too much heart to lead Destiny on. "He didn't mean to break Destiny's heart. Look." She pointed towards the Clock tower again, "He fixed it."

Nicky finally made sense of what she had been staring at n the clock tower. So did Kowalski. Private and Rico took their first glance at the clock tower. They all saw the same thing. Two penguins on the tower kissing, arms wrapped around each other, in an embrace. It wasn't just a kiss either, it was a pure, love kiss embrace.

All they could do was watch. They were all curious, mostly about how it happened. How it went from a bad boy breaking Destiny's heart, to an angel holding her like she was his only tie to earth. They watched the kiss end, and the two stare at each other for a few seconds. Destiny said something, to which Skipper answered, but they couldn't hear it. They watched Destiny lower her head onto Skipper and he lower his head onto hers. They looked peaceful and happy… and cute.

"Maybe you shouldn't bash his head in Nick." Kiki stated hypnotized.

"No. I don't think I should." Nicky replied. She wasn't sure if she should be happy, or severely confused. At the moment she felt conflicted, her confusion was winning. She started to walk towards the clock tower.

Kiki grabbed Nicky's shoulder. "Nick, you can't go up there." She said calmly. "Let them be alone."

Nicky shook her flipper off. "I just want to make sure my eyes aren't tricking me." She continued to walk towards the clock tower.

Kiki shook her head, Nicky never knew when to quit.

Destiny never wanted to let him go. She didn't want him to ever let her go either. She wanted to stay there, protected by his arms forever. She closed her eyes, enjoying every passing second she had with him. Until a thought came to mind.

Skipper had never felt so relaxed and at peace before. He could stay like this forever.

"Skipper?" Destiny asked sluggishly.

"Yes?" Skipper replied calmly.

"Where are they?"

Skipper picked his head up and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, she looked like she could be sleeping. "Where are who?" He asked confused. He didn't know who she was talking about. Who? Did she mean the guys and the girls? The ones he had flung out of the zoo? That they?

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, keeping her head on his shoulder but re positioning it so she could see his face. She stared into his eyes, "You know, Kiki and them." She replied calmly. She knew that Skipper knew what she was talking about. He knew where they were, but he was nervous about it. She could see it in his eyes, she was just too blissful to think much about it.

"Oh them, uh…" Skipper looked away. He couldn't tell her that they were lost in the city.

Nicky walked to the clock tower and started to climb it. She couldn't help herself, she was too curious. Maybe they were two different penguins. Maybe Skipper and Destiny were fighting somewhere and these two just decided to hang up there for a little while. Or maybe those two were Skipper and Destiny. She still wanted to know how Destiny forgave him, and what he did to make that happen.

When she got to the top she peaked over the edge to see if they were looking her way. They weren't so she silently climbed up. She stood there and watched them, surprised that neither one of them sensed her presence.

"You know Kiki and them." Destiny said peacefully.

"Oh them uh…" Skipper replied

Destiny sounded peaceful to Nicky. "We were flung halfway across the city." She informed.

Skipper jumped, he did not know Nicky was there. When did she get there?

Destiny lifted her head up sluggishly and looked over at Nicky. She didn't know if she should be surprised, angry, or calm. She went with calm. "Oh hi Nick. How did you get up here?" She asked.

"De?" Nicky asked confused. Destiny sounded sheepish, like she was drugged, or high. The phrase _love drunk_ came to Nicky's mind. It made her laugh. Destiny was love drunk. "Are you drunk?" She asked.

"I don't know." She replied sheepishly. She looked up at Skipper, he stared back her with one eyebrow cocked, confused. "Am I drunk Skipper?" She asked. She didn't know why she was acting so… not herself at the moment. Maybe she was drunk. But she didn't drink anything, just the punch, and that was hours ago.

"No, you're not drunk Destiny." He laughed. He didn't know what was wrong with her. But she did sound drunk. She didn't pay any mind to Nicky's statement. Maybe she didn't hear the words, just Nicky's voice. That would be great, for the time being.

Destiny lowered her head back down to Skippers shoulder and closed her eyes. Maybe she was drunk, but on what? She rethought Nicky's statement. They were thrown halfway across the city. That must've been fun. _Wait._ Destiny thought, lifting her head back up and her opening her eyes. _Flung halfway across the city?_ "What happened?" She asked seriously, coming back to reality.

"Oh nothing really." Nicky laughed nervously.

"Nothing?" Destiny asked, "Oh really? So um, how exactly did you end up flying halfway across the island then?" she pushed.

"He did it." Nicky stated pointing at Skipper.

Destiny pushed away from Skipper. "You threw them halfway across the island?" She asked shocked. Why would he do that?

"They were getting in the way." Skipper explained. They got in his way of finding her. And he didn't mean to send them halfway across the island.

"That's not an excuse!" Destiny replied sternly.

"She hit three times with a crowbar." Skipper replied pointing at Nicky. "It didn't exactly tickly you know."

"Skipper." Destiny whined. She couldn't believe he did that. And then came up to her like nothing of the sort happened.

"The guys went with them. It's not like I meant to send them that far. I just wanted them far enough to give me time to find you." Skipper explained desperately.

Destiny turned away from him. She couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry. I-" Skipper started.

"They could've been killed Skipper." She said, disappointed turning back to him. "They could've gotten hurt."

"They were going to kill me. And if I was going to die I didn't want to die without fixing the mistake I made. And the boys went with them. Do you really think they would let anything happen to the girls? Or themselves for that matter?" Skipper asked, hoping he didn't screw things up too bad. He just fixed things between him and Destiny, he didn't need yet another problem between them.

"We're fine De." Nicky reassured. She could see that he was desperately trying to fix things. She had to hand it to him, he was doing a good job so far. Whether he was struggling or not, he was doing pretty good.

"Are you sure?" Destiny asked. She would have to kill Skipper if Nicky was lying. She wanted to hurt him somehow anyway.

Nicky danced around. "Yeah, I'm sure." She confirmed after dancing around for a few seconds.

Skipper looked from Destiny to Nicky and back, concerned. "So... is everything ok?" He asked cautiously.

Destiny hatched an idea. She walked towards the edge of the tower. "Come here." She ordered. He had to pay for flinging them halfway across the city.

Skipper, not wanting to mess things up any further, obeyed. He didn't know what she wanted, but he became nervous. He had a feeling that going towards the edge of the tower wasn't a good thing.

Destiny smiled at him. Then she grabbed his flipper and threw him off the tower.

Before Skipper knew what happened he was lying on his back, implanted in the ground. He moaned in pain. That really hurt, it was extremely unexpected too. Never in his life did he see that happening. But there he was, on the ground, in pain, at four o'clock in the morning. And despite the pain in his back, and how surprised he was, he laughed. He couldn't believe that Destiny just threw him off the clock tower. He would've thought that she'd do something else, something that included a lot more pain in a lot more areas of his body.

Nick gave Destiny a high five.

"Girl." Nicky laughed. "I forgive the guy. That makes up for it" payback was bitter sweet. Skipper being thrown off the clock tower was payback enough. It was funny too, because he looked so shocked. Shocked that he had been thrown off the tower. And he was laughing, she hadn't seen him laughing before, or if she did she didn't remember.

Destiny jumped down to Skipper and bent down to look him in the eye. "Yup. Everything's ok now." She said smugly.

Skipper had stopped laughing by then. He watched Destiny straighten up and start to laugh herself. She had a nice laugh. Sweet sounding, like birds singing in spring, and soft like a slow flowing stream. After a few minutes Skipper got up. "Thank you for rudely throwing off of the clock tower." He said sarcastically.

Destiny stopped laughing. "You know you deserved it." She replied, grinning.

Skipper crossed his arms. He knew he deserved it. It was a small price to pay for what he did to everyone else. But it still wasn't very pleasant.

"Come on. You know it." Destiny pushed. He deserved it, it was the truth. Being pushed off the clock tower was a good punishment for flinging everyone across the city.

Kiki and the others ran up to them.

"Are you alright?" Kowalski asked concerned. He saw Skipper thrown off the clock tower. Fast too.

"I'm fine Kowalski." Skipper replied, not taking his eye off Destiny. He smiled, not knowing what else to do.

She smiled back. He was strong. Well, strong enough to be thrown of the clock tower and get up like nothing happened. His ability to get right back up like a rechargeable battery was impressive.

"Are you sure Skippah?" Private asked confused.

"I'm sure." He reassured.

"I think we should sing." Kiki stated. She was suddenly in the mood to sing. She didn't know where it came from. She was just suddenly filled with the urge to sing.

Everyone stared at her confused. Where did that came from? It came out of nowhere.

"What?" Destiny asked confused. The statement caught her off guard. Nicky was usually the one to randomly say things. Kiki never just threw ideas into the air.

"We should sing. You know on stage, with a microphone?" Kiki replied. She was in the mood to sing.

Everyone responded with silence.

"It was just a suggestion. I checked, the party is still going on. It just took a break." Kiki said defensively.

Destiny thought about it for a few seconds. Singing might be fun. "Sure, why not?" She replied.

"Are you guys in love now?" Cassy asked. Singing was good, for them. She wasn't getting back on stage. Nope. And nothing was going to make her either. But she was curious. They were kissing on the clock tower, and then Destiny threw Skipper off the clock tower. So were they in love? Or were they still mad at each other?

Destiny smiled at Skipper, "Yeah. I would say so." She liked to think so. Even though it was a rough start, she knew now. Skipper was the one guy who had liked her for who she was. He loved her. Why shouldn't they let everyone know?

"I would have to agree." Skipper agreed. He gave her a crooked smile, happy to be in love with her. No girl had ever given him such a hard way to go, in terms of falling in love. He could tell that she wasn't using him like the others. She actually loved him.

"Oh goodie!" Cassy said happily. She was glad that they were finally together. They made such a good couple.

"Wait." Nicky said, interrupting the happy mood. "How did this happen? How did he," She pointed at Skipper, "Go from heartbreaking moron to good guy?" She asked. She wanted to know how he did it.

Destiny thought for a moment. "Well first he didn't give up on the wanting to talk to me. And he apologized for the misunderstanding." Destiny explained. She still thought it was rather charming that he did that.

"Misunderstanding?" Kiki asked confused. Skipper said 'No'. How could that be misunderstood?

Destiny looked at Skipper and smiled. He would have to explain that. "Your turn." She said.

"Well, I um…" Skipper said hesitantly. "I meant not there, in the lemur habitat. I sort of, froze." He explained. He knew there would be some sort of shocking remark from at least one of them.

They all stared at him shocked, opened mouthed. After a few seconds they burst out laughing. None of them would've thought in a million years that Skipper would freeze.

Skipper sighed. He saw the laughter coming. But it still annoyed him.

"So that's what happened?" Nicky asked once they calmed down.

"Pretty much, he confessed too. I don't think that has to be explained." Destiny replied.

"No, we got it now." Private said, smiling. He knew Skipper would never break Destiny's heart. He had too much heart himself to do that to anyone.

Then they all went back to the party. Julian was sitting at the bar looking all bummed out.

"What's wrong Julian?" Cassy asked sweetly. He looked upset.

"My boomie box has stopped booming. Now how are we to have a party without music to dance to?" He asked. He sighed and looked down.

"We could sing for you." Kiki offered without thinking.

"For the rest of the party?" Julian asked hopefully. He hoped they'd sing for the rest of the party.

"No." Nicky said defiantly. She was not singing for the entire end of the party.

"Oh please, I beg of you! It would only be for two more hours." Julian pleaded.

"Ok Julian. We'll do it. If. You get us a set of drums, a guitar, a piano, and an electric piano." Kiki negotiated, remembering what Kowalski said about having musical talent.

"Psht. That's easy silly penguin. We have that stuff in the royal music box." Julian replied. He scurried off and made the apes, Bada and Bing, put the instruments on stage.

"Why did you have him do that?" Private asked. He was confused about why they needed all of that.

"You didn't think we were going to preform and let you guys just sit and watch us did you?" Nicky asked. "No, if we're singing, then you guys are going to be up on stage with us."

"So who can play what?" Destiny demanded.

Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico exchanged looks of nervousness. They all knew how to play an instrument. They never really wanted to though. Never needed to.

"Well?" Nicky pushed.

"What can you play Kowalski?" Kiki asked. She was dying to know what he could play. It would be fun to do a song with him.

"Me? Oh um…." He stammered. He didn't want to play a song, up on stage, in front of the entire zoo. He couldn't do it. He was afraid he'd mess up and look like a fool.

"Destiny raised an eyebrow at Skipper. She doubted that he could play anything. "Well?" She pushed.

"What? I can play an instrument." He replied. He could he wasn't lying. He could play three.

"I don't believe you." Destiny challenged. "Name two instruments that you can play."

"Drums and guitar." Skipper replied boldly. She was wrong. Ha! He could play a guitar in his sleep.

"Me and Skipper will go up first." She announced. Skipper sounded very strong about his talent. She wanted to see him in action. Put his money where his mouth was.

"Wait what?" Skipper asked, nervously. He didn't doubt his abilities. He never performed before. He wasn't sure how to. He wasn't much of a dancer. He usually sat against a wall somewhere when he played.

Destiny grabbed Skippers arm and pulled him towards the stage. It was time to have some fun. She dragged him behind the curtains and pushed him towards the guitar.

Skipper didn't want to perform. He started to walk off the stage.

"You're not afraid are you?" Destiny asked, she smiled at him, knowing she had hit a nerve. That's what she wanted to do.

Skipper froze. "I'm not afraid." He replied.

"Then take the guitar and play." She ordered. He couldn't back out now.

Skipper sighed. "Fine." He grumbled. He walked over to the guitar. Guitars actually. One was light brown with a dark brown pick stop and a circle right above the pic stop. It was an acoustic guitar. Beautiful instrument in sound and appearance. The second Guitar was deep sea blue with a white pic stop and a plug for the amplifier. It was also a beautiful work of art, but was able to be louder and sharper than the acoustic guitar. It was an electric guitar. Off to the side was a mechanical hand and a pic.

Skipper slipped his left flipper into the hand and picked up the acoustic Guitar. "Pick a song." He said as he grabbed the pic in his right flipper and walked back over to her.

Destiny thought for a minute. "Two. First one, ignorance. Second one you don't get to play a lot in. it's called you got me." She blushed at the second one.

Skipper smiled at the last one. He knew both songs of course. And he knew why she picked them. The first one was to see if he could really play, the second one was for him. He knew. It was a love song, it was sweet of Destiny to want to sing it.

"Ok." He replied. He switched for the electric guitar. It was needed for the first song. She was testing to see if he could play both guitars. Clever. He plugged the electric guitar into the amplifier.

They fixed the electric piano to come in when it needed too with all of the other parts, and motioned for the curtains to open.

Then they started the song.

Skipper sat down against the side of the stage, Destiny stood a few feet in front of him towards the center of the stage. Skipper started with the guitar short guitar solo. Not his favorite type of music. But he didn't hate it. He did hate the solo towards the end of the song though. It was very fast, the whole song was, but after it his pic hand started to hurt.

Destiny didn't usually sing songs like this. She usually sang calmer songs. Not necessarily slow songs, just not metal or hard rock like this one seemed to be. But she had to test him, so she sang it. Perfectly might be the right word to describe her singing. It could also be used to describe Skippers playing.

No one clapped when they finished. They were all staring at Skipper wide eyed, and opened mouthed. They never saw him do that before. Half of them didn't think he had actually played that.

"You didn't do that!" Julian stated angrily. "It is impossible for a penguin to play a guitar so well." Skipper didn't play that. Penguins can't play guitars.

"Ringtail, I did do that. And penguins can play guitars I just did." Skipper replied calmly.

Julian thought for a moment. "Unplug the music maker and do it again." He ordered.

Skipper sighed, in annoyance. Julian was being difficult. Skipper hated when Julian was difficult. But he wanted to prove that penguins can in fact play guitars. So he went over to the electric piano and unplugged it. He held the plug up so everyone could see that the electric piano (Or music maker as Julian calls it) was unplugged. And he played the solo again.

Then everyone applauded fully convinced that penguins, specifically Skipper, could play guitars.

He looked over at Julian (the only one who wasn't clapping) and gave him an accomplished smile. "Penguins can't do what? Julian?" he asked, gloatingly. He usually didn't rub things in, but Julian deserved it. If not for tonight than for all the times Skipper had let Julian's annoyance go without stopping it.

Julian grumbled to himself and walked away.

"Tough crowed huh?" Destiny asked. She was surprised that they didn't clap right away. None of them believed Skipper played a guitar so well. Now they knew. That was a good thing right? She was still a little confused about why everyone thought a penguin couldn't play a guitar. It was discrimination against birds. And why? Because they didn't have fingers? If she remembered correctly, penguins invented the mechanical hand. Now every species uses it. And they get no appreciation. The nerve of people these days.

"They didn't know. I really don't blame them. I didn't believe a penguin could play a guitar until Johnson taught me." Skipper admitted. He had always thought that being a penguin sucked because they couldn't do anything. But he was wrong; penguins just couldn't do anything naturally. A few machines and gizmos and gadgets, and wala! Penguins can do everything any other species can do. The first time he ever understood that was when Johnson taught him how to play the guitar.

"Who's Johnson?" Destiny asked curiously. Was Johnson just a passerby Skipper had met one day? Or was he a traveler? Or was he something else entirely?

"I'll explain later. It's kind of a long story." Skipper replied. He probably shouldn't have mentioned Johnson, but it might help him get a better idea of where Destiny came from. He got up and switched guitars for the next song. He actually couldn't wait to get it over with. He hadn't played in a while and his hand was starting to bother him. But he would suffice, for Destiny.

She smiled. She could wait, it wasn't like he was going anywhere. She watched him change guitars, and get a mic. The mic was to amplify the acoustic guitar so it wouldn't be drowned out by her singing.

"Ready?" She asked when he came back.

"Yup." He replied.

She walked over to the electric piano and set it to play the song, minus the guitar part. It started to play, Destiny came in when she had to. Skipper did the same with the guitar, coming in when he needed to.

"You're stuck on me and my laughing eyes. I can't pretend, though I try to hide. I like you, I like you. I think i felt my heart skip a beat. I'm standing here and I can hardly breathe. You got me, yeah, you got me. The way you take my hand is just so sweet. And the crooked smile of yours, it knocks me off my feet. Oh, I just can't get enough. How much do I need to fill me up? It feels so good it must be love. It's everything that I've been dreaming of. I give up. I give in. I let go. Let's begin. Cuz no matter what I do. Oh, my heart is filled with you. I can't imagine what it'd be like. Living each day in this life, without you, without you. One look from you, I know you understand. This mess we're you, you know is just so out of hand. Oh, I just can't get enough. How much do I need to fill me up? It feels so good it must be love. It's everything that I've been dreaming of. I give up, I give in, I let go, let's begin. Cuz no matter what I do. Oh, my heart is filled with you. I hope we always feel this way. I know we will. And in my heart I know that, you'll always stay. Oh, I just can't get enough. How much do I need to fill me up? It feels so good it must be love. I give up, I give in, I let go, let's begin. Cuz no matter what I do. Oh, I just can't get enough. How much do I need to fill me up? It feels so good it must be love. It's everything that I've been dreaming of. I give up, I give in, I let go, let's begin. Cuz no matter what I do. My heart is filled with you. Oh, you got me, you got me. Oh, oh, you got me, you got me." Destiny liked the song, how it sounded and the whole mood of it. So it wasn't very hard to sing.

Skipper knew the song; he played the best that he possibly could, (perfection) though it didn't match how beautifully Destiny sang the song.

Everyone clapped. They all seemed to like the song. Some of them whistled and hollered. It sounded like a big crowed, but it wasn't. Everyone was just either very impressed or really loved the song.

Destiny bowed and walked off the stage. Skipper followed dropping off the guitar with the other one as he walked by.

"So?" Nicky asked Rico when Destiny and Skipper were done with their last song. He still hadn't told her what he could play if anything at all.

Rico didn't want to go up on stage. He never performed before. He was afraid of what it would be like. He was afraid that people would throw tomatoes at him. But then again, Nicky wouldn't drag him up on stage like Destiny did to Skipper. He didn't think she would anyway. He finally decided to tell her, despite his fears. "Drum." He said.

Nicky wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be. Drums fit Rico. They were wild and loud, Rico seemed to like wild and loud things, and he was wild himself. Drums were an instrument that Rico would know how to play. She wanted to know how well he could play, and if he could play in time and not be wild. "Cam we go up next, Rico?" She asked sweetly.

"Nope." Rico replied defiantly, shaking his head. He had to get over his temporary stage fright first.

"Please?" She pleaded. She wanted to sing now. Cassy sang and Destiny sang. She wanted to get it over with, because she knew that she would have to sing eventually.

Rico looked into her eyes. They were softer than they normally would be. She really wanted to go up and sing. He sighed. He couldn't keep her from doing something that she really wanted to do. "Ok." He replied.

"Great!" Nicky said happily. She pulled him up on stage.

The two of them pushed the drum set forward and fixed it to the way Rico could play. They moved the crash symbols three times along with the smaller drums a few other times. They eventually got it.

"Do you know funhouse or So What by that human singer that calls herself Pink?" Nicky asked when they got the drums all set up.

Rico thought for a minute. "Yup, yup." He nodded.

"Then let's play them." Nicky replied. She liked that song. Funhouse by Pink. It was one of her favorites. But there was one problem. She didn't know how to work the electric piano. She needed a guitarist. "One minute Rico. I'll be right back." She said running off stage.

Skipper was sitting at the bar with Destiny. They were drinking another glass of Maurice's zesty fruit punch.

"I didn't think you'd be able to do it, personally." Destiny complimented. "You were pretty good." He was. His talent surprised her. She expected him to skip a few notes or mess up somewhere. But he played both songs perfectly. It amazed her. He obviously hadn't played in a while, no one knew he could. Yet, he could play a guitar like he practiced every day. She had a feeling that Skipper had many surprising secrets stuffed up his sleeve. What they were, she had no clue.

"I knew I could." Skipper replied. "But I didn't know you could sing like that. Amazing." He smiled at her. He thought her voice was amazing. She could change the tone of her voice perfectly, from hard to soft in just a few minutes. That took talent, and Destiny had talent.

"It wasn't amazing." Destiny denied, blushing. She didn't think that she was that good.

"Yes it was." Skipper argued. "The most beautiful voice I've ever heard."

Destiny started to laugh. "I can't be the best you've heard. I mean, come on. You live in New York City, the big apple. The city that never sleeps! You've heard better." She said smiling. It was charming though, what he said. Old, but still charming all the same. New York had plenty of singers that were better than she was.

"No, honestly, it sounded like the voice of an angel." He replied, calmly. "And if I didn't know you better, I would say it came from and angel." He added.

Destiny thought about that for a minute. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked confused. Was she or was she not an angel.

"Well you're definitely not an angel. But you have the voice of one." Skipper explained. She pushed him off the clock tower. Angels didn't exactly do things like that. But her voice was sweet and soft, like an angels.

Destiny punched his shoulder, "You're so mean." She commented.

"You pushed me off the clock tower. Angels don't do that." Skipper replied.

Nicky spotted Skipper and Destiny at the bar. She ran up to them.

"Hey De, Can a borrow him?" She asked. She needed a guitarist. And he was a mean guitar player.

Destiny smiled at Skipper, "Sure why not?" She replied. She didn't know what Nicky wanted him for. But whatever it was, Skipper could handle it.

Skipper confused. What did Nicky want? And what gave Destiny the right to let Nicky borrow him? "What?" He asked confused.

Nicky grabbed Skippers arm. She needed a guitar player, and he was one. HE was coming up on stage.

Destiny smiled at him. "I'm not an angel remember?" She replied, waving as Nicky pulled him away.

"Hold on." Skipper said pulling his arm free. What did she need him for?

"What?" Nicky asked impatiently. She had to get back on stage before the night was over.

"What do you need from me?" He asked. He wanted to know what he was going to have to do before he had to do it. He didn't want to operate blind.

"We don't have time for explanations." Nicky replied hurriedly. She had to get up on stage. But she needed Skipper to come with her.

Destiny saw Skipper giving Nicky a hard way to go. She saw that Nicky was in a rush. So she decided to lend a hand. Skipper deserved to do whatever Nicky wanted him to do. She got up and walked over to them. "Having trouble Nick?" She asked calmly.

"Yes. He's being difficult." Nicky complained. She didn't have time for this.

"She isn't telling me anything." Skipper countered. He wanted to know what she wanted from him. Was that really too much to ask for.

Destiny grabbed one of Skippers arms. "I'll be happy to help." She said slyly, smiling at Nicky. She was going to help her drag him…wherever she needed him to go.

Skipper looked questionably at Destiny, not sure if she was going to help him, or Nicky. He didn't know if he should struggle, or agree with Destiny. He felt a little conflicted.

Nicky smiled back. She knew she could always count on Destiny, in the end. She grabbed Skippers other arm. "Stage." She said.

Now Skipper knew two things. One Destiny was not going to help him. And two, he was going back up on stage. For what exactly, he didn't know. His guess was that Nicky wanted him to play guitar for something. He didn't want to, nor did his hand feel up to it, so he struggled. He managed to get free of Nicky. But, as soon as he did, Destiny grabbed his flipped and twisted both of them behind his back. Unlike many others who had tried that move on him, Destiny was strong enough to keep his flippers there. "You're not getting out of this." Destiny whispered.

Skipper tried to pull his flippers free, to no avail. "You think?" He replied harshly. He should've known better. Of course Destiny would assist Nicky and not him. It was payback.

Nicky led the way. Destiny pushed Skipper the entire way. She didn't want to risk him getting away.

Skipper didn't even bother trying to get his flippers free. Destiny maintained a tight grip on his flippers the entire time. He never felt her grip loosen. He was going to have to play again. He really didn't want to though.

Nicky jumped back up on stage and grabbed the mic. She turned to Destiny and nodded.

Destiny smiled, she liked the idea of Skipper playing the whole night. He was really good, he had a talent. She threw him up on stage. She wanted to hear him play some more.

Skipper landed on his face on the cement. He shook himself off and grabbed a guitar, the mechanical hand, and a pic. There was no reason to try to get out of it now. He was up on stage. The best option was to play and get it over with.

"You know funhouse?" Nicky asked. He had to know the songs. If Rico did, then he should.

Skipper thought for a moment. Did he know those? He thought back. She probably asked Rico and he had to say yes if she was going to sing them. So he thought back to when Johnson made him practice with Rico. "Yes." He replied.

"How about so what?" She asked.

"Yes, any song that Rico knows I probably do too." He answered annoyed.

"Then play that one first." Nicky snapped.

Skipper rolled his eyes. She didn't have to snap at him. He was on stage wasn't he? Skipper figured that Nicky was still pissed about him making Destiny cry, which of course was unintentional. But she must've not seen it that way.

Shaking that thought out of his mind, he started to play the first song. So what, by the human who calls herself Pink. He wondered why she picked the name Pink, but he could figure it out some other time. He hadn't played the song in a while and had to focus on the notes.

Shortly after Skipper started Nicky and Rico joined in.

All of the party guests danced to the song… somehow. Nicky wasn't afraid of performing at all, so she didn't really need to think. She picked one of her favorite songs, there were very few because she wasn't a very big fan of music, so she really didn't need to think. The words just came to her. "Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nahnah. Nah nah nah nah nahnahnah nah nah nah nah nahnah. I guess I just lost my husband. I don't know where he went. So I'm gonna drink my money. I'm not gunna pay his rent. I got a brand new attitude and I'm gunna wear it tonight. I wanna get in trouble. I wanna start a fight. Nah nah nah nah nahnahnah. I wanna start a fight Nah nah nah nah nahnahnah, I wanna start a fight! So, so what I'm still a rock start. I got my rock moves, and I don't need you. And guess what. I'm having more fun. And now that we're done, I'm gunna show you tonight. I'm alright, I'm just fine. And you're a tool. So, so what? I am a rock star. I got my rock moves. And I don't want you tonight. The waiter just took my table, and gave it to Jessica Simp-shit. I guess I'll go sit with drum boy, at least he'll know how to hit. What if this song's on the radio? Then somebody's gonna die. I'm gunna get in trouble. My ex will start a fight. Nah nah nah nah nahnahnah. He's gonna start a fight. Nah nah nah nah nahnahnah. We're all gunna get in a fight. So, so what? I'm still a rock star. I got my rock moves. And I don't need you. And guess what. I'm having more fun. And now that we're done. I'm gunna show you tonight. I'm alright, I'm just fine. And you're a tool. So, so what? I am a rock star. I got my rock moves. And I don't want you tonight. You weren't fair. You never were. You weren't at all, but that's not fair. I gave you life. I gave my all, you weren't there. You let me fall. So, so what? I'm still a rock star. I got my rock moves. And I don't need you. And guess what. I'm having more fun. And now that we're done. I'm gunna show you tonight. I'm alright, I'm just fine. And you're a tool. So, so what. I am a rock star. I got my rock moves. And I don't want you tonight. No no, no no. I don't want you tonight. You weren't fair. I'm gunna show you tonight. I'm alright, I'm just fine. And you're a tool. So, so what. I am a rock star. I got my rock moves. And I don't want you tonight. Ba da da da da da."

They received an applause. Everyone enjoyed it, it seemed.

Skipper got up to leave. His hand was starting to hurt.

Destiny stopped him before he could put the guitar down. "Not so fast." She said strictly. "You still have one more song to play."

"Are you sure?" Skipper asked annoyed. "Am I going to be dragged up here again? Because if so just tell me so I don't get off just to be dragged back on again." He snapped. They could've asked. He might've said yes. They didn't have to drag him up so rudely, like they did.

"I'm sure, just get back out there." She replied. She wanted to hear him play more. But she could settle for one more song.

Skipper sighed. He wanted to get off, but he didn't want to argue. Something in Destiny's voice and the look in her eyes told him that she wanted him on stage. She wanted to hear him play. She could've just told him that. He shrugged it off, he could very well just be reading her wrong. He guessed that the other song Nicky had mentioned was the one he was going to have to play. So he played it.

Rico came in where he was supposed to, running the time scale in his head so he'd stay on track. It was hard not to focus on Nicky. He liked her voice. So maybe it wasn't soft and sweet. But it had life to it. It had a certain melody. And he liked it. He liked the way it sounded, it had a wild sense to it too. He tried to focus on his part in the song, and he staying in time and played all the notes right. He hit all the right drums at the right places. But he had to catch himself when he felt himself becoming too focused on Nicky's voice.

Nicky had fun singing the two songs. She knew her voice wasn't very soft and sweet. But that wasn't her. Wasn't who she was. Her voice was perfect for the songs that she sang. She caught Rico shaking himself back into focus. So he liked it. Why, she had no clue. Maybe because it wasn't soft and sweet. He didn't seem to be very into that kind of thing. Whatever it was, she was glad. She might not be a music freak like Kiki, but the few songs that she did know and liked to sing, she could sing any day anytime. Most guys fell for the soft toned, flowing voiced girls. Yek. Rico was on the wilder side of the male population. She should've guessed that he'd like a wilder voice. Either way, she liked singing the songs that she sang, and Rico liked playing them with her. There wasn't anything else to worry or think about.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nicky saw Skipper drop everything and walk off stage. She didn't really blame him, she could've asked him if he'd play for her. But she didn't think he'd want to, and she didn't have much time to argue with him. She walked over to Rico, who was putting all of the drums away- that's why they call it drum set, you have to move many pieces- and gave him a high five. He was a little busy so she couldn't hug him. He barely stopped long enough for the high five.

Rico wanted to put everything back quickly so he could spend more time with Nicky. He knew she was waiting for him too, that helped him speed up his work.

When he was done, he got a hug from Nicky and the two walked off stage.

They passed Kiki, who was dragging Kowalski on stage. Literally.

"No, I'm not a performance person!" Kowalski argued, pulling away from the stage. He had never performed a day in his life. He could present things, he was very good at doing presentations. He was nervous about the whole performing thing.

Kiki was scared to go up on stage, she hated being in the center of attention. She was terrified by it. But she wanted to do a song with Kowalski. And she was going to do it whether she dies afterwards or not. She just wanted to do something with Kowalski. Something musical. He'd told her that he could play the piano. Pianos' were hard for penguins to play because they required excellent muscle control of the flipper. Even with mechanical hands, a penguin still needed to learn to control the muscle in the tip of the flipper. The mechanical hand picked up the muscular movement of the tip of the flipper and transferred it into the hand. So if you wanted to move the middle finger of the hand, you had to move only the middle of the muscle. It's such a hard talent to achieve that only very few penguins can actually master it enough to play an instrument. Example, only Skipper and Kowalski could do so. She'd seen Skipper do it. She had to hear Kowalski do it. She knew he could, she had complete faith in his word. But she wanted him to play, to make music. And she wanted to sing along with him.

She pulled him with all her might up onto the stage. He was stronger than she thought he'd be. By the time she got him all the way up, her arms wanted to fall off. She didn't even get him all the way up. "Kowalski please." She begged. She wanted so badly for him to come up willingly. She didn't think she could drag him any further.

Kowalski heard how badly Kiki wanted to do this in her voice. He couldn't keep her from doing it. She really wanted to. And who knows. It might not be as bad as he thought it'd be. Maybe it would even be fun. He sighed, and stopped fighting her.

Kiki was still pulling him forward. So when he stopped pulling back, they both tumbled onto the stage. They stopped in the middle of it, and looked up to see everyone staring at them.

Kiki had to immediately close her eyes. She really hated being in the spotlight. But she couldn't do anything about it. Kowalski was on top of her, and her arms were too weak from pulling him, to push him off. And her glasses had fallen off too. "Um…Kowalski." She said nervously.

Kowalski didn't really understand what happened at first. He was almost hypnotized by everyone's stares. They were staring at him and Kiki like the two of them had grown another head. He heard Kiki say something, and turned his head towards her. Her eyes were closed, and her glasses had fallen off somewhere. She couldn't see anything. But that's not why she called his attention. He was on top of her, she could not move. That might also be why everyone was staring at them like they had grown a second head. He hurriedly jumped off of her and helped her up. He was embarrassed to say the least. "Sorry," He apologized nervously.

"Oh don't worry about it." She replied calmly. She had to stay calm or risk having her throat close on her. Another reason why she didn't like being in the spotlight. It made her nervous and, if she didn't keep her breathing under control, sparked her breathing problem. She really hated that. But right now she didn't have to worry about that, as her breathing was under complete control. She still couldn't see. That was the problem at hand. "But I um… need my glasses." She explained, a bit nervous herself. Everyone was probably still staring at them, wondering what they were doing.

Kowalski felt like a knit whit. He should've looked for her glasses after he picked her up. "Oh right, let me, um, go- go find those for you." He replied. He turned around and scanned the floor for her glasses. It didn't take him very long to find them.

Kiki opened her eyes and looked out at the crowd. She couldn't read their faces, all she saw was a blur of multi colored blotches. Everything was fuzzy. The balloons looked kind of funny. They were all just a big blur of colors. It looked a lot like an abstract piece of art. Interesting art work, abstract. The artist could do almost anything. Any shape, any size, any color, and he could use his imagination. She was taken back when everything all of a sudden came back into focus. Kowalski had found her glasses faster than she thought he would. She looked down and saw that everyone was looking at her like she was insane. She turned around to Kowalski.

Kowalski smiled at her. He knew that she had to be extremely nervous at the moment. She told him that she hated being in the center of everyone's attention. She just needed to relax a bit, take her mind off of the audience and just perform. Easier said than done. "Ready?" He asked calmly.

Kiki nodded. She wasn't really, but she knew that it was either now or never. If she was given any time to think about this, she would chicken out. And she didn't want to do that.

Kowalski went over to the piano and pushed it out. The mechanical hands were resting on top. He slipped them on and looked over at Kiki. They had already picked the two songs that they were going to do. The first one relied strictly on the piano. The second song would require use of the electric piano. He couldn't mess up, he had the only instrument that was going to be played for the first song. He had to play perfectly.

She nodded back at him and listened while he started to play. He was good, very good at that. She closed her eyes and tried to forget about the crowed in front of her. The first song she was going to sing wasn't one of her normals. A lot like how Destiny performed. The first song wasn't her, the second one was. The first song was a song that her mother used to sing at restaurants. Her father would take her down to hear her mother sing. Of course her mother sang it a whole lot better than she did. But nobody knew how it was supposed to sound. So no one would notice. "In old Savannah, I said Savannah, the weather there is nice and warm. The climates of a southern brand. But here's what I don't understand. They've got a gal there. A pretty gal there, who's colder than an artic storm. Got a heart just like a stone. Even nice men leave her alone. They call her "hard hearted Hannah", the vamp of Savannah. The meanest gal in town. Leather is tough, but Hannah's heart is tougher. She's a gal who loves to see men suffer. To tease them and thrill 'em. To torture and kill 'em, is her delight they say. I saw her at the seashore with a great big pan, there was Hannah pourin' water on a drownin' man. She's hard hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, GA. They call her "hard hearted Hannah", the vamp of Savannah. The meanest gal in town. Talk of your cold, refrigerating mamas. Brotha she's a polar bear's pajamas. To tease them and thrill 'em. To torture and kill 'em, is her delight they say. An evening spent with Hannah sitting on your knees, is like travelin' through Alaska in your BVDs. She's hard hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, GA. Can you imagine a woman as cold as Hannah? She's got the right name "the vamp of Savannah". Anytime a woman can take a great big pan, start pourin' water on a drownin' man. She's hard hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, GA." It brought back a lot of memories, singing that song. The one thing that she did notice though was, Kowalski could play better than her mother pianist could. He was excellent. She had never heard anyone play the piano part so well. He made the melody flow and stop where it was supposed to. Exactly where it was supposed to. He was quite the impressive pianist, she had to give him that.

Kowalski thought that Kiki sang very well. But it didn't sound like a song that she would sing. HE was beautiful, she truly was, outstanding. But he didn't believe that she sang the song very often. Or had fun singing the song a lot. She did amazing. Didn't even sound nervous.

He got up and fixed the electric piano to come in and play what parts they were missing. He gave Kiki a thumbs up and walked back over to the piano.

She nodded to him. The next song was one that she knew by heart. She would enjoy singing it.

Kowalski started to play the song. He knew it very well. Kiki had played it over and over again, one day a few weeks ago, when they finally got another day together.

"Take me now, baby, here as I am. Hold me close, try and understand. Desire is hunger is the fire I breathe. Love is a banquet on which we feed. Come on now, try and understand, the way I feel when I'm in your hands. Take my hand, come under cover, they can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to lust. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to us. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to lust. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to us. Have I a doubt, baby when I'm alone. Love is a ring on the telephone. Love is an angel, disguised as lust, here in our bed 'til the morning comes. Come on now, try and understand, the way I feel, under your command. Take my hand as the sun descends. They can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to lust. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to us Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to lust. Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to us."

Kowalski didn't have to play much in the song. But he didn't mind. He liked listening to her voice. It had a soft tone to it, a nice flowing melody. Her voice fit perfectly with the song. He could tell just by listening that Kiki was a dance singer. She sang songs that were easy to dance to. If Kowalski wasn't so nervous he could've stood up and danced while she sang. Personally, he liked songs that were easy to dance to. He wasn't a very good dancer, so songs with a good rhythm and beat were good for him because they weren't very hard to dance to. He also liked the beat of the music. It may be why he wasn't as annoyed with Julian's music as Skipper usually was. The only problem was how late the music played. He liked the music that Kiki sang. It fit her, too.

Kiki had looked down halfway through the song to see that almost everyone was dancing. They were supposed to. She loved dance music and had the voice to match, or so she's been told. She liked singing dance music, it was fun and if she was feeling brave she could dance to it herself. She looked over to Kowalski. He was smiling happily at her. He must've like it too. She was glad, maybe he could come up on stage with her again sometime, if they ever got the chance again.

Kowalski pushed the piano back and placed the hands on top of it. He walked over to Kiki and the two walked off stage together.

Kiki didn't say anything, she suddenly felt very tired. Looking up at the clock she figured out why. It was almost six o'clock in the morning. She needed to get at least some sleep, singing had made her feel very whipped out. Which was odd because singing usually didn't do that to her. She leaned her head on Kowalski shoulder.

Kowalski could tell that Kiki was very tired, She looked like she could fall asleep on his should. As she continued walking, Kowalski had to gradually hold her up more and more. He was sure that she didn't mean to, or even notice that she was doing it. He didn't say anything, he could complement her later, when she wasn't so tired.

Everyone started to leave the party, so the penguins did too. No one said anything. A wave of fatigue and need of sleep suddenly washed over them. Destiny and Skipper too. They all fell asleep as soon as they laid down.

Every animal in the zoo did. Maurice didn't. Neither did Mort. They cleaned up the habitat to make sure the humans never found out about their after Christmas party. They popped all the balloons and took down all the decorations. They did a pretty good job. By six forty three, the lemur habitat was all clean and de partied. There was no sign that a party had even taken place.

Maurice hadn't seen a lot of singers. But being in central park, he heard a lot of the concerts that were held in the park. If he could say one thing, it would be that those four girls could sing. They each had a different category too. Nicky was more of a wild or rock or somewhere along the hard voiced but very good singers, She wasn't a metal or scream singer. She was good, and she could sing actual music. Some people couldn't sing at all, others with a voice like hers sang songs that were just annoying, like rap and scream or whatever they call it. Destiny seemed talented in changing her voice from wild to soft, some singers had a very hard time doing that. Cassy was more of a calm soft singer, and Kiki was a dance singer. They were all good singers. Nowadays you don't really hear music quite like that. Many young people are more into severe punk rock or rap or screamo bands and what not. That's just what he had noticed. But he was just a kings assistant, what did he know?

Mort fell asleep towards the end of cleaning up. Maurice found him in a garbage can. He took Mort back to the habitat and finished cleaning himself. Then he went to sleep himself.

Alice was surprised when none of the animals woke up when she arrived. Most of them would be wide awake by the time she got there. It was weird that the entire zoo was still locked in dreamland when she walked in. She suspected something unusual and un-animal like, had happened. But like always, she had no evidence, so she had to shrug it off and find a way to wake the animals up.

By the time the zoo had officially opened many of the animals were up. The penguins, lemurs, gorillas, otter, chimps, and elephant were still sleeping. That was bad, mostly because they were the most popular animals in the zoo. It was annoying too. Alice had to explain over and over again that they animals probably had trouble sleeping last night and that she didn't know why and would check maintenance later. It was a long irritating morning.

_**Sorry if the writing out of lyrics was annoying. I just thought that saying they sang a song was too boring. The ending didn't go quite as well as a thought it would. But I'll leave whether it sucked or not up to you.**_

_**Here are the songs that the girls sang.**_

_**Destiny: Ignorance by Paramore, You got me by Colbie Cailat.**_

_**Nicky: Funhouse and so what by P!nk. **_

_**Kiki: Hard hearted Hannah by Ella Fitzgerald, Because the night by Cascada. **_

_**For those who don't know or didn't figure out, or just never heard of the song, if I didn't say before, the song that Cassy sang a few chapters back was Kissing U by Miranda Cosgrove. **_

_**Those are the songs in which the girls sang for those who don't know or never heard of them. **_____


	26. more time alone

It was eleven fifteen when the rest of the zoo woke up. Private, Kowalski, Rico, Nicky, Cassy, and Kiki were still sleeping. Destiny and Skipper were the first two to come out and were immediately surrounded by people.

"I guess they were waiting for us." Destiny yawned. She was still tired from the night before. She usually didn't stay at a party until six o'clock in the morning. She usually wasn't so tired after staying up for only one night. It took four days without sleep to make her this tired, usually.

"I guess. They usually don't wait. They go around the zoo and look at the animals that are up and out." Skipper replied. He still felt a little fatigued, but it wasn't anything to worry about. He would be fully awake soon enough.

They did tricks, jumped around, and acted all cute and cuddly for the humans until they went away. The others still hadn't come up. Skipper and Destiny didn't want to be the only ones up all day, so they went down and woke everyone else up.

"What?" Kiki snapped when Destiny tried to shake her awake. She was too tired to get up, and Destiny had interrupted a very good dream. She was at a concert with wonderful music playing nonstop, and Kowalski was with her. They were sharing a milkshake. But Destiny ruined it, so she was grumpy.

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon. I think you guys can wake up now." Destiny replied calmly. Kiki sounded grumpy for her. Destiny shrugged it off, Kiki was probably woken up from a good dream. She had already woken Nicky and Cassy up, they weren't very happy either. Nor were they actually up yet. They were more or less in the process. She looked over at Skipper. He had blankets in his hands. That was quite odd. She looked down by his feet and saw why he had blankets in his hands. The guys were in a pile on the floor. But they were, nonetheless, woken up and almost fully awake. "Huh." She said to herself, "Maybe that'll work on the girls." She looked back over at the girls, who were still not up. "They might respond rather well to it." She was tired of waiting twenty minutes for the girls to actually get up.

"You know," Kowalski yawned picking himself off the floor, "That's getting old Skipper." He didn't exactly take pleasure in being ripped out of bed in the morning. It wasn't a pleasant way to begin the day.

Skipper threw the blankets back into the bunks. "Yeah, but it's effective. And that's all that matters." He replied casually. He didn't care if they didn't like it or if it was getting old, if it woke them up then he'd use it to wake them up. He wasn't going to wait for them to take their sweat old time gradually waking up. He didn't have the patience.

Kowalski sighed. He should've seen that response coming. He really didn't care, it would just be nice if Skipper didn't rip them out of bed in the morning.

Private and Rico got up and stared at Skipper. Waiting for him to tell them why he woke them up.

"Go see if anyone's out there," He said, "If anyone is… you know what to do."

They nodded, still half asleep, and went up to entertain whatever humans were there.

Skipper saw Destiny standing near the girls. They were all still lying down and looked like they were still sleeping. He walked over to Destiny. "Why are you letting them sleep?" He asked.

"They're waking up." Destiny sighed.

"_Waking_?" Skipper asked skeptically. "There is no 'waking' in my books. Either you wake up, or you're woken up. There's no waking up."

"What am I supposed to do?" Destiny snapped. She didn't know how to make them get up. Letting them get up seemed to work. She never really tried to find a way to wake them up faster either.

"Rip them out of their sleep. It works for me," He replied.

"Hmm." Destiny walked over to them and ripped the blankets out from under them. Needless to say, they woke up.

Skipper left, he didn't think that he needed to be there when the girls woke up. He wanted to see how the guys were doing anyway.

"Hey!" Nicky said annoyed. "What the hell was that for?" She was waking up, what gives? Okay maybe she was still trying to find the urge to actually start getting up, but she was still getting there.

"Yeah, what'd you do that for?" Kiki hissed, she was getting up. Destiny didn't have to rip the blanket out from under her.

"It wasn't very nice De." Cassy chimed in.

"You guys were taking too long. Next time, get up." She replied calmly. She turned and went up to see if anyone was gathered around again.

"So you're saying the zoo closed because no one was awake?" Skipper asked skeptically.

"That's what Alice said," Private replied. "She said that she'd check everyone when they all woke up."

"Well-" Skipper started.

"They look fine to me doc." Alice's voice boomed behind them. She was standing near the fence of the Penguin habitat. Next to her was the zoo's head veterinarian.

"Yes. Well, no examination is needed then. That wraps it up. Everyone seems fine. They were probably over worked competing with the new ones. But people are starting to get used to them now. There shouldn't be any more late waking's." He informed. "Just keep the zoo closed for the rest of the day so they can rest. Then they should be fine."

"Thanks doc.," Alice replied. Then the two of them walked away.

"So we get the day off," Destiny shrugged walking over to the guys. She didn't think that was so bad. Besides, now they didn't have to perform for the humans.

The guys turned to her. Behind her were the other three girls. They were all staring at Skipper with hatred.

Skipper didn't understand it. He didn't do anything to them did he? Why were they staring at him like that? He raised an eyebrow in confusion. He didn't think he did anything to them.

"Oh, I told them you showed me how to wake them up faster," Destiny said calmly. She saw the confusion on his face. She had told them that when she climbed up.

"And why did you do that?" Skipper asked. Why would she do that? What was the point? Now they hated him. Nice. Real nice.

"I thought they'd want to know," Destiny replied casually.

Skipper sighed. He should've expected something like that. He didn't know why he hadn't. Destiny was still Destiny. He knew her well enough now to know that she would do something like that.

Silence settled in the habitat for a few seconds.

He didn't know what made it pop up in his mind. It came out of nowhere. Kowalski remembered that he and Kiki were going to start working on a mammal serum. Something that would turn them into mammals. Which species specifically would have to be worked out after they got the serum working. But they were going to make it a surprise. Kiki said it would be for Nicky. Kowalski was confused by that. But He really didn't mind. If it was a surprise for Nicky, then it would be a surprise for Nicky. "Oh! Kiki. We have to start that _special project_," He blurted, being careful not to say what they were planning on making.

"Right!" Kiki replied. She wanted to surprise Nicky. Whether the surprise would make Nick happy or deadly they'd have to figure out later. Nicky had been a mammal before. Kiki just hoped it didn't turn them into humans when they tested it. Then Nick would die. "Hey, since we have the day off, me and Kowalski are going to go, um… work on… something. SO yeah. See ya later!" She informed. She ran forward, grabbed Kowalski, jumped back down the hatch and went to Kowalski's lab.

"Okay," Destiny said a little confused. "You have fun with that." She was mostly talking to herself, as Kiki and Kowalski were already gone.

"VBlada rada flahrt hyrdyingt blardhin!" Rico reminded.

"Oh yeah! I remember now!" Nicky replied.

"What are you two planning?" Destiny asked curiously.

"Well," Nicky replied, "Me and Rico wanted to go break a wall in the sewers. There was a crack in it that he was telling me about, and I wanna look to see if there's a secret tunnel behind it. If there is, then we're going to blow it up and explore!" She explained excitedly. She liked adventures and blowing things up. She was very fond of secret hallways, passageways, and tunnels. People always thought that Kiki would be more interested in that, or even Destiny. But no, she loved them. She didn't really know why either.

Skipper and Destiny thought about that for a minute.

Skipper didn't want Rico to lose it with the explosives again. Rico was hard to handle sometimes, especially with explosives. "Make sure he doesn't use too much explosives. _If _you need to take down a wall make sure he only uses the explosives for that and that only," Skipper warned.

"Eight thirty," Destiny said. She wanted them back by eight thirty. If they were back before nine she'd be okay. Nicky knew what she meant.

"Okay. I won't. And we will," Nicky replied barely containing her excitement.

"Yup, yup!" Rico replied.

Skipper jerked his head towards the main gate. "Go on," he sighed.

They took off.

Private and Cassy didn't ask permission. Private just pulled Cassy away. He was going to take her to New Jersey for the day. She had told him before that she hadn't been anywhere past Northern Florida, so he decided to show her some of the nearby upper states. Like Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, and, of course, New Jersey. One per day, seeing them all in one day wouldn't give Cassy enough time to really see each state. They weren't going to go all over the state, heavens no. That would take way too much time. They would see as much as they could in twenty four hours and then they would return to the zoo. Or that was the plan at least.

Skipper and Destiny weren't startled by their disappearance; they had seen Private and Cassy jump over the wall. Besides, they had faith that the two would return before morning.

They decided to take a walk around the zoo. Just to do something. The only thing they did on their walk was talk. It was a good way to learn the deeper, more secretive parts about each other.

"So, who's this Johnson guy you referred to last night?" Destiny asked curiously. It had been bugging her all morning. She really wanted to know, the curiosity was killing her.

Skipper sighed, he really didn't want to talk too much about Johnson. Johnson was a hard character to describe. But he did infer to him and it was only right to tell Destiny who he was. But he decided to keep it short a sweet, even though he knew Destiny would want more information. "He was one of my trainers."

"_One_ of your train_ers_?" Destiny asked. He had more than one trainer? "Explain."

"Manfredi and Johnson. They trained me, taught me almost everything I know. How to fight how to defense myself and others. They showed me how to stand correctly in a fighting stance, what strikes were most effective for each foe, and how to use and feel a sixth and seventh sense. Not only that but they taught me how to do other things. Like climb trees, rocks, enhanced my sight and hearing. They showed me how to survive off the land too. They were like family to me. They looked after me when no one else would, and showed me that everyone has a place in the world. They were heroes." Skipper explained.

Destiny let that sink in for a few minutes. Manfredi and Johnson. They sounded like good men, strong in moral, strength, and wisdom. She wanted to learn more about them still. And Skipper's relationship with them. She wanted to know more about who they really were. "How did you meet them?" She asked curiously.

Skipper thought back. He didn't want to tell her. The cold cellar of that damned place. Pain torture, mental and physical. But what other choice did he have? Then again, he really didn't have to tell her everything. "Well," he sighed. "They saved me. They saved me from a prison in Iraq. I don't remember how I got there though. It was a hell hole, mental and physical torture that never seemed to end. I was still… young I suppose. Not a child anymore though. No not that young. I still remember the day they rescued us, there was more than just me there. I was put in a small room with three others. We heard fighting in the hallways, but it went away without entering our cell. The next day it came to our cell. Two of the tree men that were with me were killed accidentally. Then the boss, as he was called- the one who ran the prison- was thrown into the room. I don't know if he was dead or not, but he sure looked it. Then they came in, Manfredi and Johnson. They said we were free now, and left. The other living man jumped up and ran off. I didn't. I couldn't. I was still trying to make sense of everything, everything from the beginning. None of it made sense to me. None of it did until much later. I stayed sitting in the corner of the cell for a long time. I was free. I hadn't heard that in such a long time, I had almost forgotten that people were free. Allowed to do what they wanted. Freedom sounded nice, finally being able to roam around by my own free will. I got up and walked out of the cell, but didn't leave the prison. I couldn't figure it out. Where was I supposed to go? What was I supposed to do? My life didn't have a meaning, a purpose, something to live for. I don't think I ever felt so confused. So I simply wondered the prison. I soon found that it was empty, deserted. I was the only one left. Strangely that didn't scare me like it would've before. I don't know how long I wondered about before I passed out. When I woke up I was staring at a bright blue sky, surrounded by sand. I was in a desert. It took me a few minutes to realize I wasn't alone. Manfredi and Johnson were sitting behind me, staring at me. Manfredi was the first to talk. I hadn't spoken to a regular being in what seemed like a lifetime, and sadly I almost forgot I could. Eventually I got my act together and talked with them. After a while they left. But I once again did not move. They had left some things behind and come back to get them the next day. They were startled to see that I hadn't moved. Manfredi was the nice one, the one with the most heart. Johnson didn't really like me at first, it Manfredi's idea to drag me along. He made me follow them, making sure I wouldn't die. After a while I began to feel like my life had a purpose. And then… I was someone. I was one of them. I think I grew on Johnson. He was actually the one who taught me everything," Skipper paused. "That's how I met them."

"Wow," Destiny said in awe. Skipper may have been a hard case, but she didn't think that you would be able to see a startling past when you looked at him. She didn't, not one like that. "So you became one of them? Like a family?" She asked.

"Pretty much," Skipper replied calmly.

"Could you, um… you know, tell me more about them?" Destiny asked. She didn't know if she was hitting a raw nerve or anything along those lines. She didn't want Skipper to be uncomfortable.

Skipper smiled at her curiosity. He had always wondered why people weren't curious about Manfredi and Johnson. They probably thought the two were freaks. He didn't blame them. Manfredi and Johnson could be described in many ways, normal, ordinary, and quite were not words used to describe them though. They were everything else though. "Um… Johnson. Johnson was the leader. He always seemed to know the answer. He could be a real jerk though, especially with people that got in his way. He hated when people got in his way. Johnson was a very wise man, a strong willed kind of guy. He never gave up on anything, nothing was impossible in his eyes. He was a very skilled fighter too, and never seemed to have any fear at all. In fact, his only weakness always seemed to be me and Manfredi. He had a heart, he just never really showed it. He was a good guy…just strict and hard to deal with sometimes. He was forgiving, surprisingly, didn't like holding grudges. Over all he was a wise talented guy, misunderstood most of the time. It never bothered him. I asked him about it once and he told me that those who don't have the smarts to understand are the weakest men of all. Being misunderstood myself, never bothered me after that."

"And Manfredi?"

"Manfredi, was a klutz. He was funny too. He tripped a lot, over rocks, tree limbs, looking down would've really helped him a lot. He was smart, science smart. Kowalski learned a lot from him. Manfredi was an inventor, and as most inventors are, he was a kind, gentler, more flexible person. He was a wacky person, most of the things he said didn't make sense… well Kowalski was able to understand him. They were both science freaks, so it was only right that they understood each other. Johnson was constantly telling Manfredi to talk English. And when he fought with Johnson, Johnson would always lose. Manfredi would always confuse the anger out of him. The things I remember most about Manfredi was his kindness and the things he invented. He created the first mechanical nerve system, the first mechanical eye (Which Blowhole stole and created his own eye out of, but I won't go into that). He could create things on the spot too. They were both, in my opinion, heroes. At least for me they were. If they hadn't taken me with them I wouldn't be here. I don't even think I'd be alive," Skipper concluded.

Destiny remained silent for a minute. Manfredi was the kind, inventor and Johnson was the hard core, leader one, but both had hearts. She looked at Skipper. By the description he gave her… he seemed to be a lot like this Johnson guy. "So what happened? I mean, why aren't they with you now?" She asked.

"They're dead," Skipper replied. He missed them, he really did. They were his family, they helped create who he was. But he was also glad they were gone. If they hadn't died, he wouldn't be there, in NYC. He liked it here, he couldn't imagine his life any other way.

"Oh," Destiny said solemnly. She suddenly felt like a jerk. He probably didn't want to talk about them and here she was, pestering him about them. "I'm sorry."

Skipper looked at her. Sorry? For what? She didn't have to be sorry. She didn't do anything wrong. "Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong," Skipper replied.

"I just have one more question for you," Destiny said, pushing the jerk feeling away. "  
Who's Blowhole?"

"Oh, you'll figure it out soon enough," Skipper replied. He had actually begun to worry about that. Blowhole was due for an attack any day now. The hard part was being ready for it. It's your turn to explain now," he stated.

"Oh um," Destiny replied, nervously. She didn't want to talk about her…Calypso. "Well," She started. "I was trained by a fighter named Calypso. She became family to me, and stabbed me in the back."

"Skipper stared at her for a few seconds, confused. "Explain."

_**I hope that was ok. The entire chapter I mean. I was having trouble getting to where I wanted to be. I'm sorry it's been a while since I updated last. I'll try to pick up on this story again. I'm going to try to make it more interesting so after the next chapter things are going to get a little fishy….**_


	27. story telling 1

They were sitting on a curb under one of the zoo benches. The sun was setting throwing pink's purple's and orange's out into the sky. There were a few small clouds making the evening sky perfectly beautiful and calming, even with the background noises of the city. Skipper and Destiny saw it while walking and decided to sit down.

"I don't remember who it was. All I remember is being harshly thrown into a river. I wasn't very scared, not at first. I thought that I would be able to swim to shore once I hit the water. I was a good swimmer. But when I hit the water I couldn't go anywhere. The current was too strong. I tried to swim to the shoreline but I wasn't strong enough to swim through the currents. I quickly gave up and just let the current carry me along. Then I heard what sounded like thunder. It was loud and continuous. Looking down river I saw it was a waterfall, and judging by the immense sound that was emanating from it, it was a big one. I was about to go over, I could see over the falls… and then I was flying through the air. Calypso had saved me just in time. She was distant at first, but she gained a soft spot for me after a while. She taught me everything. How to climb, fight, hunt, hide. She gave me a better conscience, a better way of understanding. She taught me how to use the sixth and seventh sense, and how to do other things. Some were more fun than others though. A year or two after she saved me, she saved Cassy from being tortured in a prison, and saved Kiki from being eaten. Nicky never knew her, but that might be a good thing. She was caring and disciplinary at the same time. A perfect guardian, " Destiny explained.

"What happened to her?" Skipper asked. It didn't take him long to wrap his mind around her story. He was curious about why Destiny had called Calypso a backstabber.

"Well," Destiny sighed, "She started to drift away. She seemed to be changing, where I was staying the same. We grew apart I guess. I never realized it until it was too late. I always thought it was something someone said or did, not that she didn't care anymore. I always saw her as a sister, someone who cared about me. Who loved me. I hadn't felt loved in a while and having someone I could trust with all my heart and soul, felt…good. But somewhere along the line she stopped caring. And so, one day, night actually, she woke me up. She hugged me, like she always did when I needed a hug or needed to know someone was still there for me. And then I felt a prick in my back, my neck." Destiny took a deep breath. "When I woke up she was gone."

Skipper thought for a moment. That was a sad event. Calypso seemed to have had a very big effect on Destiny's life. To just pack up and leave wasn't right. Skipper didn't know what to say to it at first. Calypso should've explained. She should've said something. Skipper was glad that Manfredi and Johnson had died rather than just packed up and left. Death was better. That way you were never left with the hovering question 'Why?' HE figured out what to say though. "She made a mistake," He said calmly. He smiled at her.

Destiny looked at him. He was giving her his famous smug little grin. She knew what he meant, and his intentions. Even so, she was a little caught off guard. She smiled and shook her head. Skipper was trying to make her feel better. He was succeeding. She always felt a little depressed when she talked about Calypso. Calypso was her soul mate, _**was**_, being the keyword there. Calypso was like a sister to her, she still couldn't figure out why things happened the way they did. She decided to push the memory to the back of her head. Doing so pushed a question forward. "Who taught you how to play a guitar again?" She asked curiously.

Skipper stared at her. "What?" he asked confused. Where did that come from? Destiny asked a question that was completely off topic. It came as a surprise to Skipper.

"Where did you learn how to play a guitar?" She repeated.

"Um… Johnson. He taught me how to play the drums too. Manfredi taught me how to play a piano. They thought it was a good way for me to get out bottle emotions and learn how to focus more," Skipper explained.

"You were never an open book were you?" Destiny asked assumingly.

"Ah," Skipper laughed. "No. Not really." Skipper smiled. He never was an open book. He didn't trust people very often.

"Was it hard?" Destiny asked. She had a hard time learning how to sing. Playing an actual instrument must've been hard.

"The drums, no. The guitar was a little rough. But the piano… That one was almost impossible. Johnson was relentless. He would make me train every time I got something wrong. It was short training punishments, but after a while it wore me out. Manfredi was an easy teacher, the instrument itself was the hard part," Skipper explained.

"Really?" Destiny replied interested. She was glad she asked, the question had been bothering her on and off all day. She just hadn't gotten around to asking until now.

"Yup," Skipper replied casually.

"So you can play a piano to," Destiny said slyly. It intrigued her that Skipper could play a piano.

"Who do you think taught Kowalski?" Skipper fired back at her. He taught them all. Except Private Kowalski started to teach him the technical part, he figured the rest out on his own. He taught Rico the drums and Kowalski the piano. It wasn't very hard for him to teach them, though it seemed to take forever (which annoyed him).

Destiny shrugged. Skipper was becoming a very different person than the one she first met. It was weird to her but she met a wise older woman who once told her that life changes people. She never believed a word the lady had said. Maybe The older woman was right after all. "Why?" She asked.

"Why did I learn how to play? Or why did I teach them?" Skipper asked not fully understanding her question.

"MMM… Both," Destiny replied.

"Well Johnson thought it would be a good way to teach me how to focus, and give a softer side to my personality. I taught them because I wanted to prove I wasn't just a hard case and they wanted to learn. Besides, they weren't focusing so like Johnson taught me, I taught them. It did help their level of focus," Skipper explained.

Destiny nodded. That was good enough for her.

They didn't speak much after that. Together they watched the sunset. Watching the shadows slowly grow and crawl along the ground and sky. It was peaceful, calm, and relaxing. Beautiful too.

_**Sorry if that was short. I was going to continue but it wouldn't have turned out right. I am trying to get remotivated in this story. Sorry it tooks a while to update. **_


	28. cave crisis

_**I have decided for the sake of my sanity to do Rico's dialogue in English instead of random letters. Also so u no what he is saying. **_

_**Onward towards the fog! Or something like that. Here's the next Chapie! :D **_

Destiny gazed at the stars above. "How was life when you were younger?" she asked.

Skipper was a little surprised. He never talked about his childhood. But he found himself answering anyway. Even though he really didn't want to and wasn't very comfortable. "I lived in Antarctica with my father and sister, Destiny," he replied. He hadn't realized it until then, but his sister's name was Destiny. Two Destiny's, one a girlfriend and the other a sister. How weird was that? If they ever met it would be very confusing for probably everyone.

"Ok," Destiny said calmly, "and?"

Skipper was confused. "And…. That isn't weird to you?" he asked. She didn't think it was weird that she and his sister shared a name. wha?

"That you lived in Antarctica with your father and sister?" Destiny asked suspiciously. "Why? Should it be?"

Skipper laughed. She didn't realize he was saying his sisters name. He would've questioned that. "No not that. My sister,"

"What about her?" Destiny asked.

"Her name is Destiny," Skipper replied. "That's not weird to you?"

Destiny stared at him blankly. "Your sister? She- her name's Destiny?" She asked in disbelief. She thought no one had her name. It was her name.

Skipper nodded.

"That can't be her name. That's my name," She objected. "If this is some sort of trick I swear.."

"It's not. My sisters name is Destiny. I promise," Skipper replied.

~~~~~~~down in the sewers~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rico dynamite," Nicki order reaching her hand back. She was looking through the little crack in the wall. There was a perfectly cut out tunnel on the other side that disappeared off into the darkness. She had to know what was back there.

Rico coughed up a stick of dynamite and handed it to Nicky. She took it and placed it in the little crack in the wall. The two then ran back a few feet while the fuse on the stick of Dynamite burned out.

"This should be fun," Nicky said excitedly.

"yup," Rico replied "fun!"

The explosive exploded. The two looked excitedly into the dark cave. With a quick glance at each other the two walked into the newly opened cave.

_back at the zoo_

"Well it wasn't really," Skipper explained. "You see my father was a builder and my mother a fighter in the kings army. I found out later that she had wanted out of the army but the king threatened to imprison us if she ever left. So she was forced to stay, but she would always spend as much time with us as possible, me and my sister." He sighed. "She was killed in a battle just outside the kingdoms walls. The king decreed long before I hatched that a woman must be present in every home in which a child lived, so we were forced to welcome a foul tampered female only a week or so after my mothers death. She would beat us and, we couldn't tell anyone or she would leave and then, of course, we would be separated because the king had decided that a male didn't have the capability to care for his own children. Anyway, she would force my father to sleep with her, which went against his every belief. He believed you should only have one mate in your life. He felt like every moment he spent with that demon the more of a betrayal he was showing to my mother. My father always did his best to protect us, even if it meant taking more harm unto himself. He did everything he possibly could for us. And we were always there for eachother, my sister and I. We were always there if the other needed to talk or if one if us was in a lot of pain. Through it all we all just wanted the nightmare to end. We would always remember my mother and everything she taught us, but we wanted peace. We wanted to come home and be a family and not have to worry about beatings or threats. It took a while for the teacher's to build up the courage and complain to the king. It took a while afterwards for him to do anything about it. We were freed from her eventually. She was imprissoned for everything she had done to us, the king changed his decree so my father could take care of us all by himself. We got over it eventually, I mean we were still a family so everything turned out ok. A few years later our lives went back to being peaceful again ," he finished. He ,would never like how his childhood turned out, and he missed his family, but he couldn't change the past. That he knew for sure. He had learned to accept his past, it all made him who he was, and he liked how he had turned out. There were some things he wished he could change about himself, but hey, no one's perfect.

"Really?" Destiny asked astonished. "That's terrible. Especially since you were so young. And you never turned bitter from it? Even when you grew old enough to be you know, fully angered?"

"Nope," skipper replied. "I never really wanted revenge on her. I mean she did do one heck of a job making the three of us miserable. But the more miserable we got the closer to one another we became. A lot of what she did hurt, but we were all ok in the end," he explained calmly.

"My father never loved me like that and my mother was always too afraid to," Destiny explained sadly.

"Why was your mother afraid to love you?" Skipper asked. It didn't seem… normal. Why would someone be afraid to love their daughter?

Destiny sighed and looked up into the sky. "My father was a drunk. He would come home drunk almost every night. My mother was always on his good side. She knew how to be. He never hit her. In fact she was the only one who was able to stay on his good side twenty four seven. I always believed that there was a heart somewhere behind all the drinking. Something went wrong that made him drink. Did you know that when people are drunk they don't think there's anything wrong with drinking more?"

Skipper looked up at the sky. "No I didn't."

"I learned that in school one day. That's when I started to believe that there was a heart in the man. But he never really liked me. I mean I've never heard him say he loved me. He never hugged me or said goodnight to me. He referred to me as the brat. Even so, after I learned about drinking I thought that if he never drank… he might actually love me. But when I tried to get him to stop drinking…" Destiny looked back down at her feet. "He started to get violent. He hit me a few times. But once… just once, after he had a major surgery on his kidney and wasn't allowed to drink he went to hit me. When I flinched he stopped…and he apologized." Destiny paused. "I thought I had my father. I thought that he'd finally do everything fathers were supposed to do. But after he was done healing he picked up on drinking again. And then my mother was never on his good side. He got so violent that she moved out. But…she left me behind. I never forgot what happened that one day when he was sober. It made how much he scared me not matter. After my mother left him he became real violent. And when I became of age he started bossing me around. A few years after that I was going to the river for fish and was kidnapped. And then I was thrown into the river," Destiny explained. She still believed that her father had a heart buried under all of his drinking. She still believed it and nothing was ever going to change her mind.

"That's terrible too," Skipper said calmly. "I mean at least I had someone to turn to. But you had no one. I can see where you lack of understanding came from," Stated. "You were abandoned twice."

Destiny shrugged. It didn't bother her a lot anymore. She just tried not to think about it. "You never told me how you ended up in Iraq," Destiny said. She looked over at him.

"Oh," Skipper replied, "uh, the town I lived in was raided. I was taken from my father with my sister and we were sold as slaves. I was kidnapped again and put into the prison," He explained.

"Childhood ruined by madmen," Destiny sighed.

"You're telling me," Skipper replied.

Destiny leaned onto Skipper's shoulder. She suddenly felt very tired, but she liked the night Sky. It was calm and peaceful. She had found very few things like that in this city. It is better to enjoy what peace is found than take it for granted. She closed her eyes and wrapped her flippers around Skippers. Peaceful things don't come easily in this city. She could live with that.

Skipper looked down at Destiny and smiled. He took her flippers in his own and looked back up into the sky.

-Down in the sewers-

Rico coughed up a flashlight. He couldn't see very well. Even with the flashlight the tunnel seemed to have no end.

"This is a really long cave huh Rico?" Nicky stated. If the flashlight didn't reach the end than this cave was really long. What was back there? Was there some sort of bunker maybe? Or an empty room? Maybe more walls that needed to be taken down? Or maybe it was just a dead end. "What do you think is at the end?" she asked.

Rico thought for a minute while they walked down the long walkway of the cave. He shrugged. He didn't know what might be back there.

"I hope it's something good," Nicky said cheerfully. She grabbed Rico's flipper as she walked. What if it was something really dangerous? What if it was trouble at the end? She didn't want to walk off of the ground and fall to her death. She had finally met her prince charming and death was definitely not something she wanted. She still felt very excited about what they'd find.

Rico held Nicky's flipper and looked forward. There was something wrong. He didn't know what it was. Nothing smelled wrong. It all smelled like sewers to him. They were in a cave so he couldn't see a lot. He didn't hear anything but the pitter patter of their feet. Still something felt odd. Like someone was watching them. He just had one of those feelings. Like something was about to go terribly wrong. But he knew how excited Nicky was so he kept walking silently.

They walked for a while until the end of the tunnel came into sight. It was a dead end.

"Aw," Nicky said deflated. "It's just a dead end." She walked up to the wall and banged on it a few times. It was definitely a dead end. She turned back to Rico. "How anti-climactic is that?"

"Yup," Rico replied. It was very ant-climactic. A dead end at the end of a hidden tunnel. He was hopping for something more exciting. He sighed. How disappointing.

Nicky sighed. "I guess we'll just have to go back," she said disappointed. She really wanted to find something at the end of this tunnel.

"Not so fast!" a voice shouted from the mouth of the tunnel. It was broken and sounded almost like an electronic device.

Nicky grabbed onto Rico's flipper startled. "What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know" Rico replied. He looked at the end of the tunnel. There was a bright light coming from the mouth. There was a figure standing at the opening, but he couldn't make out who it was. It didn't sound anything like Hanz or Blowhole. It sounded younger, more geekish. He sighed. Great a little punk.

Nicky didn't recongnize the voice either. It didn't sound like Kile, or Jinkz, or wahntoo. Who was this kid?

"I've been sent to gather you little punks," the voice said. This time it had a normal laugh. It laughed an evil psychopathic laugh. It was a boy. Or at least it sounded so.

Nicky and Rico exchanged looked of concern. This kid was obviously twisted in the brain. They might be in a little bit of trouble.

"I was sent to get all eight of you, but I'll bet I'll be rewarded if I bring home two. You two will be the trap! Ahahaha!" he taunted. "This will be easy since the two of you are cornered."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nicky demanded having had more than enough of this punk. "Who sent you?"

"None of your business!" The kid shouted back. "Enjoy my little pets!"

An instant later five robotic figures shot out of the light and flew towards them. Rico caught the first one but was pulled of his feet by the second. He dropped the first robot when he hit the ground. The first one was a robotic arm, the second was a little robot. The arm drew back and shot at him with a speed that could've killed him had he not rolled out of the way. The arm drilled into the ground momentarily getting itself stuck.

The last three robotics were another arm, a little robotic dog, and a laser. Nicky jumped over the dog and grabbed the arm before it grabbed her. She pushed away from her and dodged a laser beam that shot at her, burning the wall behind her. She turned around and looked at the wall it was still red hot from the laser. _Crap!_ She thought they were in some deep trouble here. The dog charged her again knocking her off her feet. The arm the picked her up and threw her into the rocky wall of the cave.

"Ow," she grunted as she picked herself up off the floor. She looked up into the barrel of the laser and docked just in time to save her head from being burned.

The arm pulled itself out of the ground and flew towards Rico who easily dodged it. In doing so he put himself into the perfect position for the little robot to attack. The robot jumped onto him knocking Rico off balance and forcing him to the floor. The robots arms and legs extended and wrapped around Rico's legs and flipper then drilled into the ground. Rico couldn't move. He pulled as hard as he could the robot was stronger. The arm came inches away from his face and started to spin like a high powered drill. "Uh oh," Rico stated knowing he was now in a whole lot of trouble.

After ducking down and dodging the laser she was pushed to the wall by the robotic arm. The arm then grew and held her to the wall. Each of its fingers was drilled into the wall around her shoulders. The robotic dog then jumped onto her stomach and held the bottom half of her body to the wall by becoming a metal blanket and drilling itself into the rock wall behind her. The laser the hovered in front of her face charging up to shoot another laser.

The figure walked up to the two helpless penguins. "Checkmate," he said slyly. He took out two needles and smiled.

"Who are you?" Nicky demanded as she continued to struggle with the robots.

"Ah," he said as he walked up to her. "You will find out soon enough. But for now," he took the cap off of one of the needles, "nighty night," he stabbed the needle into her neck and injected her with a sedative. He smiled when her struggling body went limp. "Release," he ordered. The robots immediately released her and she fell limply to the floor like a ragdoll. "Take her to the ship."

"Nicky!" Rico cried.

The kid walked up to Rico. It was too dark to make out what it was. He knelt down.

"Don't worry you'll see her soon enough." He laughed as he stabbed the other needle into Rico's neck and watched the silly penguins fall unconscious. "To the ship!" he declared. The robots carried the two penguins to the ship. The figure walked behind his robots. "Father will be so proud," he snickered. "My first day and I have done more work than his other pesky employees."

He walked out of the cave to his ship. He marveled at it for a moment. It looked like an alien space ship. It was shaped the same way. Disk-like in appearance. Around the top were moving disks that gave the ship life. They spun as fast lightning in colors of purple, green, yellow, and black. The rest of the outer shell was chrome grey. He walked into his space ship and sat at the main panel. A few seconds later the ship blasted out of one of the city's sewage dumps and into the sky above the clouds.


	29. Jinkz

"Where are they?" Destiny growled as she paced around the table. "They should've been back by now!" She wasn't really angry as much as she was concerned. Nicky and Rico were strong, granted, but they couldn't do everything on their own. What if something bad happened to them? Then again what if they were just playing games and deciding not to come back to the zoo? What if they lost track of time? But what would cause them to do that? Unless… No they weren't that irresponsible. She looked up at the clock. Eleven thirty. Where were they?

"They'll come home De," Kiki said calmly as she cleaned her glasses. She knew Destiny was worried. Nicky did have a habit of being fashionably late anyway. The two were probably on their way back now. Hopefully. She placed her glasses back on her head. "They always do."

"Rico has a nasty habit of being late," Skipper added. He was sitting at the table watching the clock. _But not this late._ He thought. He was starting to get worried. Rico was never this late. An hour, hour and a half maybe but not this late. He was staring to think that something happened. He had a feeling too. A feeling that something went wrong.

"Yeah and Nicky isn't always on time either," Cassy said.

"Put the two together and you get the perfect mix of tardiness," Kowalski stated. He wasn't very worried. Nicky and Rico were completely capable of taking care of themselves.

Destiny continued pacing. "I have a feeling they're not late," She explained. "Yes I know Nicky isn't exactly known for being on time, but she's never been this late." Destiny knew that Nicky never came home this late. When she was given a time she usually obeyed it. No she wasn't ever on time but she was never so far off. Something had to have happened to her. Something bad.

"You think something happened to them?" Cassy asked. She was becoming very worried. What Destiny said wasn't good. Nicky and Rico were in trouble if Destiny was right. But the only question was… Was Destiny right? Or was she over reacting?

~~~~~The lair of Jinkz~~~~~

Nicky woke up in a daze. After her eye sight cleared she looked around. She could only see that she was in a cage, the rest of the room was pitch black. She couldn't see anything else. She sat back and thought. Who was that kid? And why was he after them? Did he set up the cave? How did he know she had a curiosity for hidden caves anyway? No one knew that. Only Destiny and the girls knew that. How did this kid find out? Who was he? She couldn't figure out who the kid could've gone or why he was after them.

She switched her mind to the girls. Where they looking for her yet. She didn't know what time it was but she knew that she was really late getting back by now. Destiny was definitely not happy. She was probably worried though. Destiny is only angered for the first hour of her being late, and then it changes to worry. Nicky had to give Destiny credit, for all the shit that she's been through in her life, heart is never something she lacked. Understanding was something she always needed. Well until a few months ago that is. And that was all thanks to the guys. They were probably worried about Rico.

Rico. Nicky looked around her frantically. Where's Rico? She couldn't see anything outside of her cage. Her mind flashed back to the kid. What did he do with Rico? Where was Rico? Her heart started racing. What could've happened to him? Did they kill him? Or torture him? Was he still ok in a cage just like she was?

She grabbed the bars of the cage. "Rico!" She cried out into the darkness. She listened for a reply to come. Tears came to her eyes. Where was he? Was he still ok?

"Don't vorry your little head off," a voice rang out behind her.

Nicky would know that German voice anywhere. She spun around. "Jinkz," she snarled. "What did you do with Rico?"

"Like I said before, don't vorry about him," Jinkz replied calmly. The weasel trotted out of the darkness and encircled the cage of his prisoner. "He is very comfortable in a little cage of his own."

Nicky watched Jinkz closely. The weasel's fur was jagged and missing hairs here and there. He had an eye patch over one of his eyes and out of each end going diagonally down his face the three uneven scars of a cat or something of the sort. A piece from one of his ears was bitten off. The claws on his feet clicked against the floor.

He steeped his two front paws up on the cage. "Your friends don't care much for you," He taunted. "Zey haven't even gone looking for you and zat little friend of your Yah." He jumped of and walked on his two back paws around the cage.

"No," Nicky replied. They were looking for her. They had to be. She had to have been gone long enough now right? "No, you're lying," she said forcefully.

"Oh you poor fool. If zat is what you chooze to zink," he sighed. He started to walk away. "Very vell zen. Zere are otere vays to make you talk." He walked off into the darkness.

"Zere are otere ways to make you talk," Nicky mimicked. She slumped against the side of the cage. "This isn't good. De where are you?" she said to herself. They were in a lot of trouble. Whoever that kid was he worked for Jinkz. And Jinkz wasn't someone she could face on her own. The little freak was two smart. De was always able to handle him. But she knows him. And she's better at… everything. After all, that's why she's the teacher. And right now Nicky needed her. If she didn't get here soon something bad was going to happen. Worse than being locked in a cage.

~~~~~Back at the Zoo~~~~~

"Ok," Kiki said calmly trying to get her thoughts together. "Suppose they are in trouble, and suppose they were trapped somewhere. Where would they be?" She asked.

"Well they can't be in the cave," Skipper explained. "Rico has the walkie-talkies and we have one here, he would've contacted us by now."

"And Blowhole doesn't have them he would've announced it already," Private added.

"Wahntoo would've rubbed in our faces as so as he got them," Cassy pointed out.

"What about Hanz?" Private asked Skipper.

"Nah, Hanz only goes after me. He would've left Nicky," Skipper replied.

"And Nicky would've been back by now," Kiki added.

"What about Kile?" Cassy asked. "Kile could have them."

"Yeah but Kile is more personal than that. He would've taken the strongest link out. And he leaves bread crumbs," Destiny explained.

"True," Kiki agreed. "Kile always leaves bread crumbs."

Destiny shot up straight. That only left one other person. Kiki and Cassy figured out the same thing. They all shared startled looks. "Jinkz," they said in unison.

"Jinkz?" Private asked confused. "Who's Jinkz?"

"Jinkz is Jinkz!" Kiki exclaimed.

"Kiki, Jinkz is Jinkz really doesn't explain anything," Kowalski said calmly.

"Jinkz, you know, weasel, German accent, eye patch over his left eye!" Kiki put her flipper over her left eye. "Jinkz!" She was close to freaking out. Jinkz was the smartest of their enemies. He was smarterthan she was. If he had Nick who knows what he's doing to her.

"If Jinkz has her then... then…" Cassy stuttered nfearfully. Jinkz could be doing things to her right now! She was shaking with fear.

"Jinkz doesn't leave any sign does he?" Skipper asked.

"No he doesn't," Destiny replied. She was the only one who was able to remain calm when talking or dealing with Jinkz.

"Do you know where he is?" Kowalski asked. He wanted to find Rico and Nicky and by the fear radiating from Cassy and Kiki, the sooner the better.

"No," Destiny sighed. "Not exactly. He relocated the last time we destroyed his lair. All we know is that he's somewhere in Japan."

"Japan?" Private asked. Why Japan?

"Yes he's somewhere in Japan," Destiny replied. She took a deep breath. They had to get to Nicky before Jinkz did anything to her. If Nicky was harmed when they got to her then Jinkz would pay.

"Then it looks like we're taking a trip to Asia," Skipper stated calmly.


	30. pin pointing

"Take her to ze table!" Jinkz ordered.

Nicky jumped up. The table? What was the table? Whatever it was if Jinkz was having someone take her to the table then it wasn't good. Where were they? Why weren't they here by now? She wanted to be anyone but herself. She wanted to crawl out of her skin and become someone else. Then there was the nagging question… where was Rico? What was happening to him? Had he already been taken to the table? What was the table?

She threw herself to the back wall of the cage when the door was opened. "W-w-what exactly is the t-table?" She asked fearfully.

"None of your business!" a voice shouted back at her. It was the same voice from the cave.

"You," She said shocked. Jinkz usually had robots do his transferring's. "Who are you?" she asked carefully. Fear engulfed her like fire does wood.

"None of your business!" he shouted back. He came into the cage.

It was the first time Nicky saw him. He looked a lot like Jinkz. He was a weasel with light brown fur and an eye patch. He was just a little smaller than Jinkz. He didn't look very strong to her. He took out a needle and threw it at her. Nicky caught it without thinking and stared at it as her flipper held it in front of her neck.

"Nice distraction sohn," Jinkz said from behind her.

"Son?" Nicky spun around just in time to catch Jinkz's needle in her neck. She jumped startled and dropped the need. A few second later she fell to the ground unconscious.

"Good job Dennis," Jinkz said walking away from the cage. "Now, take her to ze table."

"Can we start as soon as she wakes?" Dennis asked.

"Use your normal voice," Jinkz ordered.

"Yes vater. Can ve start ze tests at vonce ven she vakes?"

"But of course sohn. But of course."

~~~~American Airlines airport~~~~

They were all following Kiki who had the map of the airport. She looked up every few moments to see where they were and looked back at the map. "Let's see, three, and it's the fourth hallway and the fifth tunnel on the left so…" She looked up and saw the hallway they needed to go down. "This one," she announced pointing to the upcoming hallway.

Sticking silently to the shadows they turned down the hallway and followed Kiki to the tunnel that would place them in the cargo section of the plane headed for Japan. Once in the cargo section with all the passengers luggage they sat down and waited for the plane to take off.

"According to the flight attendant," Kowalski said, "The plane will first land in Hawaii before landing in the Matsuyama Airport on Shikoku Island. We'll start the search there." Kowalski heard one of the flight attantents say that. He worried about Rico. He didn't know a lot about this weasel Jinkz but he could tell by the girl's reaction to him and how nervous they were that if he did in fact have Nicky and Rico the two of them were in real trouble. He sat down against a pile of suitcases.

Cassy sat on top of a suitcase. "What if we don't find them in time?" she asked worried.

Destiny climbed on top of a stack of suitcases. "I don't know. Hopefully we won't have to worry about that," She replied siting down.

Private laid down on a pile of three suitcases. "I wonder what's happening to them," he said. "Do you think they're hurt?"

Skipper leaned against the wall of the cargo pit. "I hope not Private," he sighed. "God I hope not."

Kiki sat down next to Kowalski and leaned into him. "I hope they're ok. Wherever they are."

The plane's engine started and a few minutes later the plane took off into the night sky.

~~~~Jinkz lair~~~~

"I vill go get ze vials," Dennis said.

"Yes, go un get zem," Jinkz replied as his son scurried out of the room. He stared down at Nicky. She was held tightly to the table. Two chains around each leg and metal armbands made especially for penguins, holding her to the table. In each armband were four holes for needles, injections, vials, whatever he felt like calling them that day. Today they were vials tomorrow they could be injections. No matter what they were they were filled with potions to be tested and now that he had a test subject worthy of testing he could finally test them. When the other bird woke he would make him watch as his petty girlfriend screamed. How fun it will be.

Dennis walked back into the room with a box full of vials. "I got zem vater," He said.

"Yes, vell. Sort through zem un take out ze most potent vones. Ve vill save zose for Destiny to vatch," He replied not taking his gaze off Nicky. He smiled, if she was a weasel she would be quite beautiful. Strong too. Too bad she would still not be his type. He turned and helped his son sort through the vials for the more potent ones.

~~~~American Airlines~~~~

A voice came over the intercom. "All passengers we will be landing at the Matsuyama Airport in twenty minutes please fasten all seatbelts. Fasten all seatbelts thank you." She then repeated it in Japanese.

Destiny jumped off of the suitcases. They had been riding in the cargo pit for hours waiting to land in Shikoku. Her worry had grown more and more with each passing second, because with each passing second there was a greater chance that Jinkz had already done something to Nicky. Or Rico. She felt herself shaking, if they didn't get to Nick in time she'd never forgiver herself.

Skipper got up and walked over to Destiny. It was obvious to him that she was worried sick. He himself was worried about Rico. He rubbed her back. "We'll find them," he said softly. He didn't fully believe himself that they'd find them before something happened. But he hoped they would.

Destiny turned to him, tears growing in her eyes blurring her vision. "But what if we don't?" she countered her voice cracking. "What if we're too late?"

"We won't be," Skipper replied calmly. "They'll be ok."

"We don't have enough time to search every island of Japan though," Destiny croaked. The tears that had built up behind her eyes fell down her cheeks. She couldn't bear the thought of Jinkz doing to Nicky what Wahntoo did to Kiki.

"We'll ask around," Skipper replied. "Surely someone has to have seen a one eyed weasel running around. I mean I don't think weasels are very popular in Japan."

The door to the cargo pit opened.

"Come on, there's no use sitting here," Skipper said to everyone. He looked back at Destiny. "When was the last time you slept?"

"I don't know," Destiny replied pulling herself together. "Tuesday?"

"You need to sleep," He stated. "When we get back home." He jumped out of the cargo pit.

Destiny followed him. She knew he was right, she needed sleep. And he was right when he said they'd find Nicky and Rico. It just seemed so hopeless right now. And then what if they were too late?

They left the airport and walked down the main road asking anyone they saw if they'd seen Jinkz. By sunrise they had no success. They continued to walk taking any side road they came upon once the main roads were covered. By midday they were tired worn out and still hadn't had any success. They were about to give up when they came upon a Macaca fuscata monkey. He was older and walked slow with a cane. His fur was longer than most, some of it was matted. When they approached him he smiled.

"What can I do for you youngsters?" he asked happily. He had a rough voice but happy all the same.

Cassy smiled at the old monkey. "Well sir," she started politely, "we're looking for some friends of ours."

"Is that so?" The monkey asked. "And what might these friends of yours look like?"

Kiki thought it would be better to describe Jinkz than Nicky and Rico. Jinkz probably kept them hidden or transferred them to his hideaway in the cover of darkness. "Um, he's a weasel, a little taller than me with an eye patch and a scar across his left eye. He has a heavy German accent too," She explained.

"Oh that lad? You're a friend of his?" he asked in disbelief. "He's a bit odd for such sweet girls." He coughed a few times. "Sure I saw him. Said something about Okinawa city."

Kiki perked up Okinawa city was on the Okinawa islands a few hundred miles off the south of the four main island of Japan. "Thank you so much," she said gratefully. She knew exactly how to get there.

"No trouble at all," the Macaca Fuscata replied.

They started to walk away. "Thank you mister," Cassy called behind her.

The old monkey smiled and leaned against a nearby rock.

They walked to a train station and rode on the rooftop until it came to a stop near the end of the island. It was almost nightfall by then. Destiny didn't want to stop though. Harassed by the thought of something happening to Nicky she wouldn't let fatigue or lack of sleep get in her way. No one else was going to stop her either. They were all worried about Nicky and Rico. None of them wanted to sleep without finding them.

"It's just a few hundred miles south from here." Kiki said as they stood at the very southern edge of Japans Islands.

"Then let's go," Destiny replied.

"A few hundred miles?" Private asked. He didn't think he had the strength.

"Either we do something with the time we have or we wait until sunrise," Skipper stated. "Every minute we wait is a minute more this Jinkz has them. You can stay here, but that is a risk I'm not taking." He jumped into the water and sped off. He was not just going to sit around while some evil weasel did what he wanted with Rico and Nicky. Not on his watch.

Destiny jumped in after him. She didn't want to waste any more time.

Kowalski jumped in after Destiny and Kiki after him. Cassy looked at Private before jumping in herself. Private sighed and jumped in after Cassy. He didn't know how long they'd be swimming until they reached Okinawa city. He hoped it wasn't too long, he was getting very tired.

Skipper stopped after a few minutes to let everyone catch up, then they all sped through the water towards Okinawa city.


	31. Under the sand

~~~~the lair of Jinkz~~~~

Nicky woke up in a haze. She couldn't move. She pulled at her arms and legs. Why couldn't she move? She looked up at her arms, but they weren't there. Her arms were covered in sleek metal. From what she could see there were four holes on the metal on each of her arms. What they were for she could only guess. The only thing she knew was that whatever the holes were for it wasn't pleasant. Everything around her was dark. There was a light that hung over her, shining down on her like the sun would the sand on a beach. She couldn't hear anything. Only the slight pitter patters of water droplets dropping from somewhere unseen, and the metal that surrounded her arms hitting the metal table as she tried to look around.

She wanted to know where they were, where Rico was. Why didn't they find her yet? Why hadn't they saved them yet? Was Rico still ok? Did something happen to him yet? Was he in pain somewhere? Was he even still alive? Of course he was. He-he had to be. Jinkz never killed anyone in one day, presuming they had only been here for one day. Rico was ok, he had to be. She'd die if Rico was dead. She'd commit suicide. She'd stop living. Rico had to be ok, he just had to.

Jinkz. Why-how did he have a son? What person could possibly have a child with him? Who in their right mind would even think to do something like that? Maybe they weren't in their right mind. Maybe they were brainwashed or under a sick spell. Or maybe they were forced. Nicky shivered. Jinkz was sick, but she doubted he'd want a child that much. Or at all. How did he have a child?

And Destiny. What the heck was taking her so long? Why wasn't she here yet?

~~~~Okinawa mainland, Uruma City, North of Okinawa City, Japan.~~~~

They Jumped up onto the beach and continued to walk until they found a cave.

"What are we doing here?" Destiny asked. She had been following Skipper most of the way. She didn't understand why they had stopped at this cave. It required climbing to get to its mouth and looked long and deep.

"Rest," Skipper replied, catching his breath. "We all need to rest if we're going to fight this weasel." He placed a flipped on one of the rocks.

"I agree," Kiki said. "Look De, finding Nick and Rico is just as important to us as it is to you. But we all need to sleep. You know how hard Jinkz can be to take down, it's you who always have to do it. And you need all the strength you can get. We've swam from the Japanese main islands to here without stopping," Kiki placed a hand on Destiny's shoulder. "I think it's time to take a break." Kiki looked into Destiny's eyes. She could see that Destiny understood, but she could also see how worried Destiny was.

Destiny looked down. She knew Kiki was right. She didn't want to leave Nick with Jinkz anymore, but she needed to rest or she wouldn't have enough strength to save anyone from Jinkz.

Skipper reached a hand towards Destiny. "Come on," He said calmly.

Destiny took his hand and everyone climbed up into the cave and laid down.

Kiki cuddled into Kowalski. "I hope Nicky's still ok," She said.

"What is she like?" Kowalski asked softly.

The two were lying near the mouth of the cave on a flat rock. The sky was clear and thousands of starts were out. The only sound that was heard was the clam sound of waves crashing on the shore.

"Nicky? She's… She's something else. She can be so fierce yet… she cares so much. She just doesn't always show it," Kiki explained quietly.

"I saw the fierce part," Kowalski replied as he gazed up at the stars.

"Yeah, she shows it a lot," Kiki smiled. "But you haven't seen her heart yet. She showed me once…just once," Kiki paused. "It would put Cassy's heart to shame. I've never felt anything like it since."

"Wow," Kowalski said in awe.

"Nicky's my best friend. She knows me like the back of her hand. Always has." Tears caught in Kiki's throat. "She's a lot of things that no one ever sees. She's curious and cautious, caring and considerate, Stupid and silly, loving… She gets scared like everyone else." Tears came to Kiki's eyes. She was probably scared right now. "A lot of people think that she's just dangerous," Kiki's voice started to crack, "but she's not. She's a whole lot more than that."

Kowalski didn't know what to think of that. He knew that Nicky wasn't just dangerous, but that always seemed to make up a lot of what she was. Wild and dangerous like Rico. He could see something else though. She seemed to be like Skipper in his eyes. She hid her feelings from the world. What Kiki just told him confirmed it. "The time Nicky showed you her real heart… what happened?" he asked.

"I was dying," Kiki replied. "I was dying and she was the only one for miles around. It was Wahntoo. After he messed up my eyes. He blamed me for what Destiny did to him. I don't remember what he did. But he sent me to an isolated area. Right before he sent me Nicky grabbed my flipper. I never saw her cry before that; I never knew her eyes could get so soft. She knew that I was dying and she didn't know what to do. Her backpack was still at Wahntoo's lair, so she didn't have anything. So she cried. It wasn't anything she did really. It was something I felt. I didn't feel scared anymore. I knew I was dying…but I didn't feel any pain. She laid with me for a while. She couldn't stop crying. She didn't sob though, she's a silent crier. I could feel her crying, and soon I had tears in my eyes. She said she couldn't live without me. I couldn't die. That she…she…needed me." Kiki said softly. Tears cascaded down the feathers on her cheeks. She couldn't live without Nicky either.

"She really cares about you," Kowalski whispered softly.

"She does," Kiki replied.

"And you really care about her," Kowalski stated.

"Mmhmm," Kiki answered, unsure if she could talk. She feared if she talked she'd burst out crying. She curled tighter into Kowalski. She didn't know if it was because she was tired, or worried about Nicky, or both, but she couldn't take it anymore. She cried.

Kowalski held Kiki tightly as she cried. He wondered about them. Were they still ok? What was happening in this Jinkz weasel's, lair? He hoped Rico was ok. He really hoped Nicky was ok too.

~~~~Lair of Jinkz~~~~

"I see zat you are avake now," Jinkz said slyly.

Nicky looked up, sure enough Jinkz was there. "Thank you captain obvious," Nicky spat sarcastically. She was annoyed at Jinkz. She hated restraints, and what did he have her in? He chained her to a freaking table!

"Vatch yourself you stupid little Mädchen," Jinkz threatened. "I vould seriously consider cool zat little temper of yours," He snarled. He took a deep breath. "Vell, now zat you're avake ve vill start ze tests."

"Tests?" Nicky asked fearfully. She didn't mind being chained to a table anymore. "W-w-what kind of t-tests?"

Jinkz picked up a red vial and attached a needle to it. "Ze kind zat vill probably hurt like nothing you have ever felt before in your entire lifetime," He replied casually.

Nicky's eyes went wide. "W-w-what?"

"You heard me Mädchen," Jinkz said calmly.

"W-w-wait a minute," Nicky stuttered, "You don't have to do that right?"

"You really are a stupid bird," Jinkz laughed. He injected the red liquid into Nicky through one of the holes in the arm cuffs. "Have fun screaming," he said walking away.

Nicky felt her heart pounding in her chest. He fear skyrocketed. What did he just put in her? What did he mean by have fun screaming? What-where was Destiny? And Rico? Someone had to be looking for them by now. Kiki was probably worrying her head off by now. Where were they.

A few seconds later her thoughts were interrupted.

It hit her like a shockwave. It came without warning and hit everywhere in her body. Everything of her body. Every corner and crevice, every muscle and organ. It felt like a thousand headaches. It felt like a heart attack. It felt like the worst stomach ache and the worst broken bone. It felt like all of it all at once. An eruption of pain everywhere. More pain than she had ever felt before. She struggled in the restraints and screamed in agony. She couldn't stop it. Why wasn't it stopping? The pain. So much pain. She struggled frantically in the restraints but she couldn't free herself. When would it end? Seconds felt like hours minutes like days. Tears came to her eyes and fell down the sides of her face like water does a waterfall. When would it end? Where was Destiny and-and Kiki and everyone else? How long would it last? How long until they finally found her? And what happened to Rico?

The pain didn't end for hours. And Nicky struggled until she couldn't struggle anymore and screamed until she had no voice. And then finally when she had exhausted her muscles and destroyed her voice, only then did the pain stop. Leaving her out of breath and sobbing in the restraints that held her to the table. Her body throbbing still from being worn and in such amount of pain for so long.

And then Jinkz approached the table with a grin and whispered with such pleasure, "And vere is your silly friends now?"

And Nicky once again cried for the same question had been ringing in her head with the pain for hours.

~~~~Uruma City, Sunrise~~~~

Destiny sat by the edge of the cave. She had gotten chill that morning that woke her earlier than she would normally rise. She had heartache that morning as well. She had dismissed it as paranoia earlier, but now she wasn't so sure. Now as she sat and watched the last stars fall from the sky and the sky turn orange as the sun crept over the horizon she didn't know if it was paranoia or something else. And as she sat watching the sunrise she knew, deep in her heart, something was wrong.

Skipper walked up behind Destiny and sat down beside her. "They are all awake now," he informed. "We will start searching whenever you're ready." He could sense how concerned she was. He knew something wasn't right. He could feel it. He straightened himself and focused on sounds. Something wasn't right. A sense of caution washed over him suddenly. He stood up and jumped down the rocks onto the sand. He looked out at the endless beach looking for something that didn't fit.

"What's the matter?" Cassy asked curiously.

"Something's not right," Skipper replied. Then he saw it. Twenty meters away there was an unnatural area of slight hills in the sand. Like someone had buried something. He slid over to it.

Cassy looked at Kiki confused. Kiki shrugged and jumped off of the rocks.

"Where is he going?" Destiny asked confused.

Skipper came to the hill and stopped. It was such a slight difference in the area around at first glance it was nothing of concern. But there was something odd about the mound of sand. He brushed the sand away, little by little. He created a small ditch in the sand and was about to give up on something being there when he uncovered a corner of grey. Brushing more sand away he found a square piece of metal that seemed to go far under the beach. In the square going all around a few inches in from the edges was a square indent. He stepped onto the middle of the square and tried to think of what it could be for.

A few moments later his question was answered for him. out of the square intent sprang a cage and before Skipper knew what was happening he was pulled under the sand and continued to shoot downwards for many seconds before stopping abruptly in a dark room.

"Skipper!" Destiny shouted when Skipper was pulled under. She ran towards the spot where Skipper was standing just a few seconds ago. What happened to him? Whatever happened she hopped he was ok.

Everyone followed her. But before they got to the spot more cages sprang up out of the sand and pulled them down under the sand.

_**Since Jinkz is German I've decided to use a few German words. **_

_**In German**_

_**Mädchen is girl**_

_**Sohn is son**_

_**Vater is father **_


	32. Fredric

_**I'm on a roll! Finally! I told you things would pick up…eventually. And they have! Well enjoy the chapy!**_

Skipper pulled at the bars of the cage. Where the hell were they? And why was it so dark? He hated cages. They were always so small with limited room, he hated it. He couldn't see anything outside of his own cage. There was a little light on the ceiling of the cage shining down on him. The bars of the cage wouldn't budge, and there wasn't a door anywhere on the cage. The only way he was getting out is if the psychopath who set up the cage took him out, and that would only be if the psychopath even remembered he had a cage in this room wherever it was, and if he decided to let him out which probably wouldn't be for anything but some sick twisted game or experiment. Skipper sat back against the bars of the cage. Great. He was at the mercy of some sick twisted psychopath. Presuming it was a psychopath. Maybe he was just sick and twisted, or evil, or diabolical.

No matter. Whoever it was they'd better get here soon, he was starting to get really annoyed with the darkness and the cage. He let out a sigh. What happened to everyone else? Did they continue on to look for the evil weasel, what's his face? Jinkz. And it's a German weasel? There were weasel in Germany? And what kind of German name is Jinkz? It sounds more like a clown name. Wonder what Jinkz would do if he was told that. Skipper had the sudden urge to find out.

Right on time too. Skipper straightened up. He heard a slight _clickclack clickclack clickclack, _and it was getting closer. He stood up and grabbed the bars of the cage trying to see what was coming. A few seconds later he saw it. A weasel with a black eye patch and a scar that ran through it. He scampered over and when he got close stood up on his back paws.

"Hello, penguin," The weasel said.

That had to be Jinkz. German accent, eye patch, scar.

"So you are ze vone zey call, Skipper," Jinkz said intrigued.

"You must be Jinkz," Skipper replied. "I was wondering," he continued, "Your name, Jinkz, it doesn't sound German to me."

"Oh? And vat does it zound like zen?" Jinkz asked impatiently.

"I don't know. It kinda sounds like a clown name," Skipper said calmly.

Jinkz eyes grew wide. "It is not a clown name you fool," he growled.

"Are you sure?" Skipper asked. he was getting on Jinkz' nerves already. The weasel was kinda funny when he was angry.

"Yah, I'm sure! Vat do you zink? I do not say zings unless I am sure of zem! Oo, you are more annoying zen ze dolphin said you'd be," Jinkz hissed.

Skipper was confused. Dolphin? What-what dolphin? Dolphin as in the one eyes dolphin? As in Blowhole? That dolphin? He actually talked to another villain? That's unheard of with Blowhole. Blowhole never talks to other people.

Jinkz laughed at Skipper confusion. "Oh yes, your little dolphin friend contacted me a vile ago," Jinkz boasted.

"Ha!" Skipper laughed, "you think Blowhole's my friend? You really are a stupid weasel."

"I am not going to get angry vith you," Jinkz said calmly. "I have zings to do. But I vill be back for you. Fredric is getting tired of vaiting." With that he scampered away.

Skipper punched the wall of the cage. Blowhole. Whatever he said to this twisted weasel was about to cause him a lot of trouble, and or pain. And when he got out of this place he was going for Blowhole. Because if Blowhole wanted him to be stuck with this weasel then he had a plan that he didn't want anyone thwarting.

"Is everyone alright?" Destiny called when everything was still.

"Yeah I think so," Kiki replied. She had no idea where they were, she knew it had something to do with Jinkz though, because there were lights in the cages. Only he did that.

"I'm alright," Private coughed. Some of the sand had gotten into his mouth. He tried to spit it out but there were still little beads of sand stuck to his tongue.

"Yup," Cassy yelled out.

"I'm fine," Kowalski replied, "I think."

"Good," Destiny sighed. She sat down in her cage. Everyone's ok. But wait. Where's Skipper? "Hold on a minute, where's Skipper?"

Jinkz ran back to Skippers cage.

"Did you miss me that much?" Skipper asked sarcastically. Jinkz had only been gone for a minute or two. It seemed pretty fast for an evil weasel, if that's what he was. He was starting to seem more like a crazy weasel, but not the wild crazy kind. The kind of crazy person who keeps his mental issue to himself. Those are the most dangerous.

"No you stupid bird," Jinkz spat out of breath.

"Tired are we?" Skipper asked.

Jinkz growled. "Fredric is getting very vrestless, so-"

"Vestless?" Skipper asked. He knew what Jinkz meant he just wanted to piss the weasel off. "What the hell does Fredric need a vest for?"

"Not vestless restless!" Jinkz shouted.

"You said vestless," Skipper replied calmly.

Jinkz growled. "You aren't even vorth my time," He hissed. He took out a remotes control and pressed a few buttons. He turned and started walking. Skippers cage followed him.

"I have two feet, I can walk you know," Skipper stated.

"For now you do," Jinkz replied. He laughed.

Skipper stood back in his cage. For now? What was that supposed to mean? Was he going to get his feet cut off? This was one seriously sick weasel if that was the case. What was going to happen to him? he was sure it wasn't going to kill him. Where was the fun in that? Or at least it wouldn't be a quick death. He was very fond of quick deaths. They weren't torturous or painful. They were quick and painless, mostly because you die before you feel any pain. But villains don't like quick and painless deaths or anything. Because that wouldn't be fun at all. Sick bastards. Still to kill him already wouldn't be very enjoyable either.

They walked into another dark room.

"You're not very fond of lights are you?" Skipper asked.

"I do not need zem, I know zis lair like ze back of my paw," Jinkz replied professionally. "And I do use zem."

"Uh-huh. So," Skipper said, "who is Fredric? And why exactly is he getting restless?"

"Fredric is my favorite pet und he's getting restless because he is bored," Jinkz replied blankly.

"How am I supposed to help him with that?" Skipper asked skeptically. He was a little nervous about that too. So Fredric was a pet. And he was bored. There are many things that he could be used as to curve this pets boredom. This wasn't good.

"You vill find out," Jinkz said stepping to the side. Skipper's cage kept going forward for a few meters before its floor opened dropping Skipper on the floor.

Skipper stood up, he heard the metal clicking of a cage door closing and locking. A very big cage door. He turned to Jinkz, who was standing on the other side of cage bars that were very close together. "So you put me in a bigger cage?" Skipper asked confused. She good did that do.

Jinkz laughed. "You vill see. But first I must go get some people to vatch," he said happily.

"Watch what?" Skipper asked as the weasel scampered away. He sighed. "Great." He was stuck in a big cage for the entertainment of whoever and this stupid one eyed weasel. Why were the most annoying enemies one eyed? That was actually a good question. Blowhole only had one eye. Sure the dolphin constructed his mechanical eye but it wasn't a real eye. Come to think of it, that mechanical eye probably hurt when it was installed. Skipper shivered. Now there's a gross thought. Little wires digging into skin and bone.

And this weasel. He had one eye. He wasn't smart enough to make a mechanical eye though. Or maybe he just didn't waste any time on it. He seemed to have everything memorized though. Kowalski had told him once that when you lose the sight in one eye you can't distinguish between distances. So either this weasel learned how to interpret his disability or he really did have this place memorized.

What point was there in having him in this giant cage? How big was it anyway? What was it for? Skipper had a bad feeling that he was about to find out.

"Don't vorry about him," Jinkz said scampering out of the darkness. He stood up on his back paws and walked around Destiny's cage. "Seriously, vhat is it vith you girls and your silly boyfriends. Jeeze."

"You wouldn't know pal you've never dated anyone," Destiny shot back begrudged. "What did you do with Skipper?" she demanded.

"Never dated? I vill tell you Destiny I hav a sohn now and a very beautiful-" Jinkz started annoyed.

"Oh please don't tell me," Kiki interrupted.

Jinkz smiled and walked over to Kiki's cage. "Oh yes Kiki," He grabbed the bars of her cage, "I have a very beautiful frau," he whispered.

"Who the hell would marry you?" Kiki asked shocked. Who in their right mind would marry and have a kid with this freak?

"Abby und Dennis is our sohn," Jinkz replied. "Now as for you lover, ve vill go see him now," Jinkz said. He turned and scampered away.

"Jinkz!" Destiny called to the weasel, "You forgot to press the button!"

A moment later the cages lurched forward. "Idiot," Destiny mumbled. What was he doing to Skipper? How did he knew that they were dating? What did he mean girls and their boyfriends? They were locked in cages in Jinkz' lair. Why wouldn't they worry about their boyfriends? For a scientifically smart weasel he was lacking intelligence in everything else.

Few minutes later all the lights went out. Skipper jumped at the sudden loss of light. What was that for? He heard the slight buzzing of a machine. It sounded like a gondola when it is traveling up the mountain. It had the same mechanic buzz. He walked up to where he remembered there being cage bars. When he reached them he grabbed a hold of them.

The lights the flickered back on and standing right in front of him was Jinkz. Skipper jumped and stumbled backwards.

"Ah Skipper," Jinkz said calmly, "ve are a bit jumpy ya?"

"Annoyed, ticked, impatient, paranoid. Add it to the list pal," Skipper replied annoyed.

"Yes, vell. Your visiters vill vatch you now," Jinkz stated calmly scampering away.

Skipper watched him. He seemed to do that a lot. Probably went to sit in some little office and watch. He didn't know what there was exactly to watch anyway, he was just sitting in a big cage doing nothing. Not very entertaining.

"Skipper!" Destiny yelled.

Skipper whipped his head to the side. Destiny was hanging in a cage in the middle of the room. A few seconds later the half of the room lit up. The walls and roof still couldn't be seen though. With her in other cages, were Kiki, Kowalski, Private and Cassy. He was glad to see that they were alright, but still confused as to why he was put in this cage.

"Are you ok?" Destiny asked concerned.

"Me?" Skipper replied. "Well let's see, I'm in a giant cage, waiting for a pet name Fredric to entertain somehow, stuck in the lair of a psychopathic weasel with a clown name," He paused. "Yeah I'm fine."

Kiki giggled. "Clown name," she laughed. That was new. Probably got on Jinkz' nerves too.

"That's a good one," Cassy giggled. She had never thought to call Jinkz' name a clowns name.

Destiny smiled. She should've thought of that one. "That must've pissed him off," She said.

"It's not a clown name!" Jinkz shouted over some kind of intercom system.

"Sounds like one!" Skipper shouted back.

"Fredric, fetch!" Jinkz called through the intercom. "Have fun."

There was a low growl from the darkness of the cage Skipper was in.

Skipper backed into the bars of the cage. Whatever Fredric was, he was big, and he wasn't happy. He wondered what Fredric was. He was big so he was either robotic or scientifically engineered. Or both. That was a scary thought.

Unfortunately it was a correct thought.

The lights from the other half of the room lit up. The entire room was very boring. Nothing on the walls, only tracks for the cages were attached to the ceiling. There were only three steel doors and a giant door at the end of the cage that Skipper was locked in. that was the door that Fredric entered through.

Now Fredric. He was half mechanic and half flesh. He looked like something from a fantasy thriller book. He looked like a dragon; wings mounted on his back, scales cover the flesh part of his body, thick strong back legs and razor sharp claws. He had the head of a dragon, covered in crimson red scales with black beady eyes, and horns. His ears looked like giant fins of a fish and came to a sharp point on either side. Thorns lined his back and tail. Its snout was that of a regular dragon also, long and filled with white, pointy teeth. His wings were an acid yellow and made of hard metal. Shaped like a regular dragon though coming to points in four or five points at the tip. The tail was also mechanic, though it still had spikes going down the middle. The spikes that ran down the beast's spine were acid yellow like the wings. Above the eyes on its head and on either side of its nose were yellow whiskers, thick like a catfish's and waving like a cats' tail. Its neck was as long as a two story building is high.

Skipper stared up at the beast with wide fear filled eyes and his mouth agape. This thing was, one, huge, two, a dragon, a three, stuck in the same cage as he was. This wasn't good.

Fredric pushed his head down and sniffed Skipper. He was then still, staring into Skipper's eyes.

Skipper stared back at the beast. His fear rising every second. Staring into the things beady soulless eyes didn't help any. Beady and black Fredric's eyes gave no comfort. Skipper was stuck in a cage with this thing the main goal was not being eaten. He took a few seconds to wonder what exactly would happen to him here. He was fearfully curious at what Fredric was going to do with him.

A few seconds later Fredric answered his curiosity. He let out a quick force full huff and pulled his head back up. He then whipped his tail forward and wrapped it around Skippers waist before flinging him into the air.


	33. sick games

He screamed as he was flung into the air. He knew now what Jinkz had meant earlier. Fredric, the half mechanic half flesh dragon, needed a toy to play with. And of course when you are a dragon only the toys that scream in fear and pain are fun to play with. As weird as it was the more Fredric threw him around the more angry he got at Blowhole. More so than Jinkz. Blowhole had made a pact with this weasel and now because of it one of his plans was now unfolding on the world and he was stuck with a stupid dragon.

Correction, a very dangerous, frightening, half mechanic dragon.

As angry as he was, his anger was miniscule to the fear he felt. He never thought he'd be so afraid of a dragon. As silly as it sounded it was true. He never thought he'd be so terrified of a dragon. Sure it had sharp teeth, claws that could rip you in half, powerful wings, and a killer instinct, but he had seen worse. Or so he thought. Some of the things Blowhole came up with were pretty scary too. This dragon however, was much more terrifying.

After he was thrown into the air, Fredric swatted Skipper into the wall of the cage. He grabbed skipper before he hit the ground and pulled him close to his face. He roared and threw Skipper back into the air. Swinging his claws forward Fredric caught Skippers chest causing three deep gashes from one corner of his chest to the other, before pinning Skipper to the ground.

Skipper got the wind knocked completely out of him. He couldn't breathe for a few seconds. When he could finally breathe again he couldn't control it. His fear took a hold of his breathing and he couldn't stop it. Fear also took control of everything else. He didn't move, frozen in fear and waiting for Fredric to do whatever else the dragon was going to do.

The pain in his chest was almost unbearable. He grabbed the dragons finger and tried to loosen the pressure on the gashes in his chest, but it was no use. The dragon was too strong. His chest stung immensely. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was stuck under the foot of a dragon, with three or four gashes in his chest that hurt like freakin hell, and he could do anything about it. He was at the mercy of a three ton fantasy creature that wasn't supposed to even exist.

Destiny could only watch as Skipper was throw around and toyed with by the dragon. She couldn't look away. She wanted to but she couldn't. She felt that if she turned away from the horrible scene she'd be betraying him, and she couldn't do that.

Jinkz smiled at the mental torment Destiny was receiving. He saw it all over her face; it was very amusing. He had never actually seen so much anguish on Destiny's face before. The pained and fear filled cries from her lover, though agonizing to her, brought a smile to Jinkz' face. But that wasn't good enough. He had the upper hand on Destiny, finally after all these years he had the complete upper hand and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest extent. He scurried out of the darkness, walked up to Destiny's cage and watched Fredric play with the one named Skipper. Her eyes locked onto him like a heat seeking missile. "Amusing isn't it?" He said happily. He saw tears forming in her eyes, her realization that she could do nothing but watch. Well she could look away but that wouldn't be much fun at all now, would it. No. "Amusing, yes, but not amusing enough," He whispered in her ear.

Destiny watched in terror as Fredric tossed Skipper around like a rag doll, pinning him against the floor, throwing him into the air, clawing at him while he was in the air; it was horrifying to see. She had tried to ignore Jinkz but what he had just spoke scared her. She looked at him wearily. What more could he possibly do?

That was like asking if the situation could get any worse, which it did.

Jinkz scurried back into the darkness to Nicky who was lying awake and very frightened. Another one who he finally had the upper hand on. Nicky and Destiny were always hard to conquer. They both were very strong and determined. He could intimidate Nicky, but Destiny on the other hand he could never, NEVER, get a hold of. She was absolutely fearless of everything he came up with. It bored her more than anything. It often led him to wonder why. He didn't know. He stared down through the darkness at Nicky. He could only see the outline of her body clearly, but he could still see her shaking. He could feel how scared she was, as if she were surrounded by a cloud of fear. It was absolutely wonderful.

In the past hours he had injected different serums into Nicky and recorded what they did. It was very fun to watch. The red was, of course pain, like little daggers cutting into every corner of her body; he enjoyed that one the most. Green gave nightmares, horrible ones; also very amusing to watch. Blue caused her to have very frightening hallucinations. Orange gave Nicky chest pains, much like a heart attack. Pink gave the worst kind of migraines. And yellow was a combination of the orange and pink. Jinkz knew the perfect one to show Destiny. A smile stretched across his face as he prepared the needle.

He flicked the needle and made sure it worked. Before ordering is son to turn on the last light in the room.

Destiny didn't take her eyes off the dark corner that Jinkz had run into. He heart, which was already beating faster than a jackrabbit when being chased by a fox, sped to an almost deadly heart rate for sure. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, her nerves raced through her veins like racers around a track. Her mind jumped to a thousand things that Jinkz could be doing in that little dark corner. It didn't help any. He could be putting touches on a mutant who he was going to release upon them while they were still stuck in the cages.

When the lights in the corner flickered on her heart stopped. What she saw in the corner put her stomach into a thousand knots.

Nicky stared up at the maniacal weasel in terror. She couldn't take it anymore. She just could not take it. Pain, and pain, and-and more pain, and nightmares, and freaky hallucinations, and more pain, and-and fear. She just couldn't take it. She looked up at the weasel with eyes that begged. "Please." She whispered, barely audible, as tears formed in her eyes.

Jinkz smile down at Nicky, "Sorry Charlie," He whispered back. He injected the red venom into Nicky's arm. He looked up at Destiny. "Vatch zis Destiny!" he taunted. "Zis is vhat happens ven you toy vith me!" He let out a psychotic laugh.

Nicky looked over at Destiny and gave her a weak smile. She knew what was coming, she knew. She heard Skipper too; he was in pain too. The only difference was that he was more terrified and she was in more pain. Jinkz was a psychotic bastard. She saw the pain written all over De's face. Destiny always had a plan, she always knew what to do. In a crowd of crazy, freaked out people Destiny was completely calm. It was very scary to see Destiny come undone. Nicky barely saw them, but they were there. Little flashes of the light reflecting off tears. And then it hit her. Like it did before, a wave of nothing but pain. Head to toe, her body erupted into stinging, burning, aching pain.

Destiny had never seen such a thing in her entire life. She had never heard Nicky in so much agony. Nicky was a lot like herself when it came to pain, she tried to grit her teeth and dust herself off. The two of them weren't much for screaming in pain. But seeing Nicky scream like this… tore Destiny in two. She didn't know what to do. She had to do something, but she knew she couldn't. And between Skipper and Nicky, Destiny was going to have a heart attack.

Kiki turned towards her when Nicky began screaming. Horror washed over her like a tsunami. She had never, ever, heard Nicky scream like that. It brought tears to her eyes.

~~~~~Floor two of Jinkz lair~~~~~~

Unbeknownst to everyone else in the facility, Rico was waking up.

Woken up by a pain in his chest, Rico awoke to total darkness. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. He didn't remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered was fighting robots in a dead end of the sewers with Nicky.

Nicky. Where was she? Rico started to feel nervous. Where was she? Where did she go? Why was he alone? He rubbed his chest, it was really bothering him, like someone was squeezing his heart.

That's when he heard it. It was very faint, but he heard it. And he didn't like it. It was Nicky, and she was in pain. First he was filled with heart ache and horror. But that would help any. So he melted it, all of it, into pure crazed rage.

He got up and ran along the hard, steel floor in the direction of Nicky's cry. No one hurt his Nicky and got away with it. NO ONE. He'd make sure that whoever did this, never breathed again.

_**Sorry it took a little while to update. I had to find words. Anywho I hope you enjoyed. ^^**_


	34. escaping

Skipper was pinned to the floor again, this time on Jinkz command. He had a burning hatred that he could've used to answer the weasel had he not been focused on the scorching pain in his chest. It took everything he had not to scream out in pain. Nicky was doing enough of that to last a lifetime. It angered him. He never thought he feel that. Nicky's cries added anger to his hidden rage like wood to a fire. He and Nicky hadn't exactly been pals. They had been nice to each other in the past few months, but he had always had a sense that she didn't fully trust him. He didn't fully trust her either.

"Have you had enough yet Skipper?" Jinkz taunted.

Skipper finally looked over at Jinkz. What the heck was wrong with this guy? Nicky was screaming in agony, the pain in his chest was almost bringing him to tears; Destiny had bagged him a few times now to make it stop. What the hell? This weasel was freaking sick. "There…is something… really… seriously… wrong with you," He replied out of breath. He moaned as Fredric pressed his claw down harder.

Jinkz laughed. "You are just noticing zis?" He mocked. He laughed again. He looked over at the bird, cringing in pain from the weight of Fredric's foot on his open wounds. A smile came to his face. "Ah, you are in pain ya?" He asked slyly. "Oh iz Fredric bozering you?"

Skipper grabbed at the dragons claw and tried to push it up. All the little cuts and scratches that covered his arms stung as he exerted the last of his strength. He gave up on it and let Fredric's claw crush down on his chest, as he clenched his jaw trying not to scream.

"I vill let you rest for a vile zen," he said unemotionally while turning away. Inside he was bursting with laughter at these stupid birds, and at the dolphin. This dolphin, Blowhole? Had been trying to capture and torture the penguins for years with limited success. He tried once and succeeded. For such a scientifically intelligent mammal he lacked evil genius. He shook his head and walked back over to Nicky, who's screaming had melted into crying. He stared down at her unemotionally. Tears still flowed from her eyes, and she was gasping as she cried giving her a hysteric sound, but he could tell that she was tired. Exhausted. "You are a sad Mädchen, Nicky," He said flatly.

Nicky didn't respond. She didn't care what he did, or said she just wanted to fall asleep and wake up in a soft warm bed free of chains and pain. Or in Rico's arms. She didn't care if she was in the center of a volcano as long as she was in Rico's arms. He had secure arms, warm and soft and secure. Everything she wanted to feel. She closed her eyes and imagined it. Her sleeping in his arms, in the middle of an oasis in the desert. It calmed her down a little. Even so she couldn't stop crying, and she couldn't catch her breath from screaming.

"I zought you vere stronger zan zis." He sighed picking up a green needle, "Oh vell, I suppose I can give you short brake." He jabbed the needle into her arm and pushed the green liquid into her veins. Nicky fell asleep within seconds. He turned to Destiny, who had collapsed in her cage. He smiled, she had broken down half an hour ago. That was the biggest achievement he's had in what seemed like centuries. In all the years that he'd been fighting her, he had never been able to do this to her. He laughed. But his laughter was cut short by the sound of pounding.

Skipper was drifting into unconsciousness when he heard it. He turned his head weakly to Jinkz and smiled. Rico, the devil had finally woken up. Jinkz was going to get it now.

Jinkz looked up at the ceiling above him. "Vhat is zat?" He demanded.

Skipper smiled. "You are an insane, sick, twisted, psychopath," he replied, "And you're about to get your ass kicked." He dropped his head back down and looked up at Fredric. Fredric was staring up at the ceiling curiously.

~~~~~~above~~~~~~~  
Rico slammed his fists wildly into the steel floor, Nicky had stopped screaming but that wasn't enough to calm his anger. Whoever did this was about to die, and when he finally calmed down he wouldn't regret it. Nicky didn't deserve to be in pain. Never ever. And nothing she could ever do would ever change that. She was the kindest, strongest, loveliest thing in the universe.

He gave up on punching the floor and coughed up his chainsaw. Laughing maniacally he cut through the metal floor. When he dropped to the ground he quickly surveyed the situation. Skipper was stuck under a dragons foot, everyone else was in cages hanging from the ceiling. Cassy was curled into the corner of her cage crying, Kiki was sitting in the corner of her cage probably trying to think a way out. Kowalski was doing the same thing. Private was sitting in the middle of his cage wide eyed in shock. And Destiny was crying almost hysterically in her cage. He had to do a short double take on that. Destiny was strong like Skipper. It took a lot to do anything to them really. He looked over at a metal table in the corner of the room and immediately recognized who was on it. Nicky and she was chained down to it. His rage doubled when he saw it. He turned slightly and saw a weasel with an eye patch crawling nervously away. He stared at the weasel with absolute rage and began to shake with anger. He tried to keep some control, but after seeing Nicky unconscious on the table, he just couldn't.

Skipper smiled. His vision was blurred and he was starting to have trouble breathing. "Have fun in hell dirt bag," He called to Jinkz in a cracked voice.

Jinkz glanced over at Skipper before looking nervously back at the crazed penguin before him. This penguin looked like a murderous mad man. He was quite terrified. Then he hatched an idea. "You come any closer und your little friend vill be squish by Fredric.

"Oh yeah?" Rico challenged, his mind ran by rage.

Jinkz smiled. "Fredric," he called, "Lift your toy up for zis idiot to see."

Skipper opened his eyes and looked wearily up at Fredric as his heart beat sped back up.

Fredric let out a delighted roar, wrapped his talons around Skippers body and lifted him up into the air squeezing Skipper like a constrictor does a mouse.

Skipper moaned as the air was pushed out of him. He could barely breathe. His chest erupted in pain again. He once again had to use all of the strength he had left to keep himself from screaming.

Rico looked wide eyed at the dragon's talons. It was obvious that Skipper was in pain, what caused the pain he didn't know, it had to be more than the dragon though. He held his chainsaw a little lower and looked back at the weasel.

"Ah you zaught you vere going to play ze hero ya?" Jinkz laughed. "You are such a stupid bird."

Rico looked down, he was thinking. Skipper always taught him not to give up too soon. Well not to give up at all but, that was hard for someone like him. He looked back up at Jinkz. He looked at his chainsaw. He looked narrow eyed at Jinkz and walked up to him.

Jinkz eyed the penguin nervously. "Vhat are you doing?" he demanded.

Rico walked up to the weasel and placed the blade of his chainsaw under his furry chin. "Drop 'im," he ordered.

"If you don't remove your chainsaw from my neck I vill have your friend killed," Jinkz threatened sternly.

Fredric tightened his grip on Skipper.

Skipper couldn't breathe at all now. "Rico!" he coughed with the last air in his lungs. "Kill him already!"

Rico smiled, he could barely hear Skipper, but he heard him. Knowing the weasel wouldn't understand him Rico commanded, "Drop now, or die."

Jinkz looked confidently back into the crazed penguins eyes. "Nein."

Rico pushed the blade harder against the weasel's throat and started the engine. "Drop. 'Im."

Jinkz swallowed fearfully. But he wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Go ahead und kill me. If you do, Fredric vill kill your friend. Ezer vay I vin."

Rico pulled his chainsaw away and waited a few seconds while the weasel got up. Then he kicked the stupid thing in the stomach and sent it back a few feet. He walked up to the weasel and picked it up by its throat. "Drop, 'im," he demanded.

"Nein," Jinkz coughed. He wasn't intimidated by this stupid penguin. This penguin couldn't kill him, he had many more pets who he could call to help him.

Rico growled at flung the weasel into the nearest wall. No wasn't the right answer. He walked up to the weasel.

Jinkz took a gasp of air and picked himself off the floor. Maybe now was a good time to call one of those pets. He reached for a nearby panel but was stopped.

Rico placed his chainsaw under the weasels chin again and stared down at the weasel.

When Jinkz looked up he could've sworn he was looking into the eyes of the devil himself. This penguin's eyes were filled with a burning hatred. It was scary.

Rico let out a low growl.

Jinkz decided that he had had his fun for a good while. He would have to rethink things. Next time he'd put everyone in a cage. "Fine, fine, I vill release him," He said calmly.

"All," Rico hissed.

"Ok zen," Jinkz huffed, "I vill release zem all." he moved the chainsaw away from his neck and got up. He walked to the panel and pressed a button that opened every cage and released Nicky's chains. "Zere. Now get out."

"Drop im," Rico hissed.

"Right, right," Jinkz replied annoyed. "Fredric release." He scurried away before anything else went wrong.

Fredric dropped the penguin and walked through the large doors into the room behind it.

Rico, for the first time in a long while, dropped his chainsaw and ran over to Nicky. She was sweating, and shaking, and moaning in fear. She was having a nightmare. Rico picked her up and hugged her tightly. He wasn't angry anymore. He just wanted to know Nicky was ok. He tried to wake her up but she didn't budge. His chest started to bother him, he hated seeing Nicky like this. He tried to think of what he could do to wake her. He remembered then that he had a shot of adrenalin in a medical kit. He placed Nicky back on the table and coughed up the medical kit. He found the adrenalin shot and uncapped the safety cap. He hesitated, he really didn't want to stick Nicky with a needle. God knows what she's already been through.

It took Destiny half a second to realize she hit the floor. She looked up and saw Rico running to Nicky. She was glad someone was caring for her, someone needed to and Rico was to only one she needed right now. Rico was the only one who could do anything for Nicky now. She looked over and Skipper. Her eyes went wide, and her heart stopped. He was lying on the floor, stone still. "Skipper!" she called afraid that he was dead. She ran over to him and fell to her knees. "Skipper?" She whispered.

Rico took a deep breath and quickly injected the adrenalin and threw the needle far away. He picked Nicky back up and held her as her body stilled. He wanted to hear her voice, something that told him she was ok. He held her tighter, hoping nothing bad had happened. Hoping he wasn't too late.

Destiny looked over him. His entire body was filled with cuts and gashes. There were three deep, long gashes in his chest. That's what scared her the most. What if one of those gashes went through his heart? What if he was dead before she got to him? He had been bleeding a lot. Evidence was the drops and splatters of blood that coated most of the floor inside the cage. She lifted his head held him close to her. She didn't want him to be dead. She hoped against hope that he wasn't dead. Tears came to her eyes.

Skipper woke up slightly. He opened one of his eyes and looked up at Destiny. He saw the tears in her eyes, but she had cried enough now. He lifted his flipper and tilted her face up slightly. "You need to know something about me," he said softly.

Destiny looked into his eyes and smiled. "And what's that?" she asked.

Skipper smiled. "I don't kill easily." He sat himself up and looked over at Destiny. She needed a hug, he concluded. However, he didn't think she wanted a hug from him at the moment. "I would hug you, honestly I would, but I'm a little sore at the moment," He said calmly. He wanted a hug. It had been a long while since he actually wanted a hug.

Destiny smiled and leaned into him. He was such a good boy; he didn't want to get his blood on her. "I don't care Skipper," She replied softly. "I love you."

Skipper wrapped his arm around her. "I love you too."

Nicky slowly woke up. She felt stiff and sore…and softness. She opened her eyes. She felt secure, and soft, and warm….Rico. He was holding her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. He had finally saved her. She was safe in his arms now. There was no more pain or fear, just….Rico. Her Rico. She buried her face in his shoulder and closed her eyes. Her soft, loving, sweet, secure, Rico.

Rico hugged Nicky like she was the only thing keeping him onto the earth. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I was late."

Nicky smiled. He was so sweet for a wild guy. He truly was. "You weren't late, baby. You weren't late at all," She whispered.

"I was worried about you," Rico said calmly. He was so happy that Nicky was okay, but he knew she was lying. He was late, he heard her screaming. He was too late.

"I was worried about you too," Nicky replied. "But we're ok right?"

Rico nodded. "Yup." He thought he was going to cry. She sounded so weak to him. And scared. Why didn't he wake up sooner? Why didn't he get there before she was put in so much pain? Why didn't he get up before anything happened? Then maybe he could've stopped everything. It might've been too much to ask from himself, but if he woke up sooner maybe Nicky would've never been in so much pain. She would be ok then.

Nicky could sense Rico's distraught. She placed her feet on the ground and pulled away from him so she could look into his eyes. She placed her flippers on his cheeks. "Listen to me," She said softly, "you didn't do anything wrong. I'm okay now. Really I am. All I needed was you." She pulled herself to his shoulder. "And now that I have you…I don't need anything else."

Rico smiled weakly and wrapped his arms around her. He knew she was right, but he couldn't stop feeling like he could've stopped everything from happening. Now he knows how Skipper feels. He's expected to do that. Skipper was always given that kind of expectation to live up to. Skipper… he completely forgot about Skipper. He turned his head to where the dragon was before. Skipper was sitting with Destiny. He let out a breath of relief. Everyone was okay now. Now.

"What did the weasel thing do to you?" He asked, more curious than concerned. Nicky said she was ok now, he would just have to except that.

Nicky laughed. "His name is Jinkz," she laughed.

"Jinkz?" Rico asked. "Was he a clown before?"

Nicky laughed again. "Skipper said the same thing," She replied smiling. "No he wasn't. He's always been a sick psychopath."

"Not to intrude, but I think Skipper said it best," Kiki said from behind Rico.

Nicky looked up at Kiki. "And what's that?" She asked curiously.

Kowalski walked up next to Kiki. "An insane, sick, twisted, psychopath," Kowalski informed.

Nicky smiled. "He hit the nail on the head there too." She smiled at the thought. "An insane, sick, twisted, psychopathic, clown." Nicky burst out laughing. She had to pull herself away from Rico. That was the funniest thing she had ever heard Jinkz called.

Rico smiled. Nicky was perfectly fine. He started to laugh too.

Kiki smiled at them. She was glad that Nick was ok. And all it took was Rico. Rico was perfect for nick. He was a wild guy and could tolerate Nicky's personality better than any other guy ever could and more. Plus he was a sweat guy too, and could make every feeling Nicky could be feeling into pure secure feelings. Like Kowalski was for herself. She turned to Kowalski, he was staring at Skipper and Destiny concerned. She placed a flipper on his shoulder. "You ok, babe?" She asked.

Kowalski sighed. "He needs to be taken care of," he stated. He was worried about Skipper. That dragon had toyed with him for a long time.

Kiki leaned her head on his shoulder. "Destiny is with him right now," she said calmly. "Let them be for a while."

"But-"

"No but's" Kiki interrupted. "If Skipper is anything like Destiny, which you and I both know he is, then a few cuts and scratches won't really do anything. I'm pretty sure gashes won't kill him either. He and De don't kill easily," she explained.

"I guess," Kowalski sighed.

Kiki smiled. "He'll be fine." She turned around. Cassy and Private were still sitting under the cages, shell shocked, almost too scared to move. "Them, on the other hand, may need some help," She stated.

Kowalski turned around to the cages. "Yeah, they may need help."

They walked over to Private and Cassy. Kowalski sat down next to Private and Kiki sat with Cassy. They spent the next hour or so calming them down, explaining that it was all over now and that Nicky and Skipper were ok.

Destiny pulled herself away from Skipper. "You should get those covered," She stated. She was happy that he was ok but now it was time to get serious.

Skipper sighed. "I guess so."

Destiny got up and helped Skipper to his feet. "So, did you have fun?" She asked sarcastically as they walked over to Kowalski and Kiki.

Skipper looked over at her. "Oh yeah, tons. I always loved being ripped apart by a dragon," he replied.

They walked over to Kowalski and Kiki who were helping Private and Cassy to their feet. "Hey doc. I think I need a checkup," Skipper stated calmly.

Kowalski turned around and looked at Skipper. "Well you don't seem to have lost too much blood, that's good," He replied. "Disinfectant and bandages should be enough."

Kiki looked over Skipper. "Yeah that should do."

Skipper smiled and looked at Destiny. "Happy?"

"Yup. So when can we get out of here?" She asked calmly.

Kiki thought for a moment. "Well we should bandage Skipper up and then we can go," She replied.

Destiny nodded. "Then hop to it. And Skipper do cooperate."

Skipper smiled knowingly at Destiny. "I may hate being bandaged but I am capable of cooperation."

Kiki roller her eyes. "That's like saying you had the right to remain silent but not the ability."

Destiny laughed. "I can see you saying that babe."

"Thank you oh so much," Skipper replied sarcastically. He was being teased and he knew it.

Kiki laughed. "Alright hold still and we'll patch you up," she said calmly.

"I'll go get Rico," Destiny announced. She ran over to Rico and Nicky. She didn't' really want to interrupt them. Nicky looked like she was about to fall asleep in Rico's arms. Rico was slowly rocking Nicky back and forth. She decided that she would try her best not to intrude and tapped Rico on the shoulder.

Rico lifted his head slightly and eyed Destiny.

"Um, we need some gauze for Skipper," Destiny whispered.

Rico nodded towards the medical kit that he had coughed up earlier.

"thanks," Destiny said quietly before running to the med kit. She brought it over to Kiki and Kowalski who used the items in the kit to patch Skipper up.

Skipper looked at himself when they were done and pouted.

"What's wrong?" Destiny asked curiously.

Skipper looked up. "I liked my black wings. But now they're all white and papery. And itchy. Do I really have to wear this?" He replied.

"Yes!" Kiki and Kowalski scolded at the same time. He had to wear the gauze for at least a week.

Skipper sighed. He hated bandages. He personally thought that one day in bandages was good enough. But doctor's orders are doctor's orders.

After going and getting Nicky and Rico, they left Jinkz' lair and found the cave that they had slept in the night before and slept there again.

_**Not a very good ending to the chapie but it was getting long enough in books so. I hope you enjoyed it though! ^^**_


	35. home again

It was early in the morning when they had rested in the cave. No one had really fallen asleep though, everyone was too paranoid. They walked back down onto the sandy shore. It was the end of the day by the time they reached the end of the shore. The sun was setting under the blue sea casting an orange and yellow shadow on the water and throwing pinks and reds into the sky with orange highlights as the moon crept over the horizon. It was nice.

Nicky was falling asleep leaning on Rico as they walked. She was glad to be out of that place, away from Jinkz and his chains, and needles. She didn't know how, but somehow Rico had defeated Jinkz. She would have to find out more about that later. Right now she felt tired. So tired. She hadn't been so tired in a long time. She could usually go days without feeling tired. She'd feel fatigued, but not tired. She fell to the ground, sleep sounded so good at the moment.

Rico caught Nicky as she fell and lowered her to the ground. He became very concerned at first, but after a few seconds he realized that nothing was really wrong with Nicky, she was just sleepy. He didn't blame her. She hadn't had any natural sleep in a while. He held her in his lap and watched her as she tried to stay awake. He suddenly realized that they needed a place to sleep Nicky was in no condition to swim back to New York. He looked up at Skipper. He was sitting on the ground again.

Skipper grabbed his head. He was in no condition to swim back to the Japanese main Islands. He didn't think he'd be able to go anywhere really. His entire body wanted to sleep, even though in his mind he knew they had to get off this island. He looked up at Destiny, she was looking around. Her eyes fell on something behind them and a small smile crept onto her face. He turned around and saw Rico holding Nicky in his lap. Skipper wasn't the only one who wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I think we'll have to stay here for another night," Kiki stated. Judging by how Skipper just stumbled to the ground, and how Nicky was already sleeping, they'd have to wait until tomorrow to get back to Japan.

Kowalski looked around trying to see if there was a boat that could take them back to the Japanese main islands. A few meters off shore was an incoming ship. It was odd, it didn't look like an ordinary Ship, though it could work. They just needed to get Nicky and Skipper to swim a few minutes and they could get back to New York tonight. "Or we could get on that," He replied pointing at the ship.

Destiny looked to where Kowalski was pointing, there was a ship there. "That could work. Are you up to it Skipper?" She asked looking at the ship. It would only take a few minutes of swimming to catch up to.

Skipper had fallen back in the sand. It was very smooth sand. Very soft sand…comfy sand. He didn't answer.

"Skipper?" Destiny asked turning around. She shook her head at Skipper. He was really wiped out from that dragon. But they still had to go home. "Skipper come on, get up." She said as she pulled Skipper to his feet.

Skipper rubbed his eyes and looked out at the boat. "Swim there?" He asked not really wanting to swim so far at the moment. He didn't want to swim at all really. He yawned. He wanted to sleep. "What the heck." He shrugged. Better to get it over with. He turned back to Rico and Nicky. "I don't think it's me you have to worry about though."

Cassy stared at them. "I don't think Nicky _can_ swim De. She looks awful tired to me," Cassy stated calmly. Nicky looked really tired, but she looked very comfortable with Rico. She was happy that Rico had been there today. He was perfect for Nicky. Cassy smiled, maybe they should stay here tonight.

Kiki looked at Nicky. "Maybe we can wake her up enough to swim a few minutes," She replied. They were either going to swim to the boat or swim the entire way tomorrow.

They walked over to Nicky and Rico. Cassy sighed and followed behind everyone.

Private walked next to Cassy. "Look on the bright side," he said sensing Cassy's distraught, "this way she'll only have to swim a little."

Cassy smiled at Private. "I guess you're right," she sighed. "She just looks so tired." She leaned onto Private. She was beginning to feel tired herself.

Rico saw them coming. He didn't want them to, but he knew they were going to have to wake Nicky up for something. He decided to wake her up himself. He carefully shook her awake and got her to sit up. "Come on, wake up," He said softly.

Nicky opened her eyes and stared at Rico. "Why?" she whined. She didn't want to get up, she didn't feel strong enough. She wanted to sleep.

Kiki walked up to Nicky. "Hey Nick, we need to get onto a boat that's going to take us to the main islands," Kiki explained calmly.

Nicky nodded, closing her eyes and leaning onto Rico's shoulder.

Kiki sighed, she really hated to do this to Nicky. "We need you to wake up enough to swim."

Nicky sighed. She would have to swim. She knew that arguing would get her nowhere. Besides, she needed the strength for swimming. "I guess," She replied sheepishly.

Rico helped Nicky up and they all swam to the boat. When the boat landed they worked their way back to the airport and found a plane that was going back to New York. It was going to stop in Hawaii first.

Nicky and Skipper fell asleep in the cargo area. Rico laid with Nicky on a small stack of suitcases. Kiki leaned on Kowalski's shoulder against the wall of the cargo pit. Skipper fell asleep leaning on a stack of suitcases. Destiny leaned onto him and closed her eyes, though she never fell asleep. Cassy and Private sat on a piled of suitcases and talked for a while before Cassy fell asleep.

After the plane landed in Hawaii it went to the John F. Kennedy airport in New York.

Rico carefully picked Nicky up and carried her off of the plane. He didn't want to wake her up, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Private woke Cassy up and helped her off of the Plane.

Destiny had to wake Skipper up. She didn't like the fact that she had to. He was finally sleeping, but she had to get him off the plane before animal control did.

They made their way back to the zoo silently, and arrived shortly after midnight.

Skipper was about to lay down when Kowalski interrupted him.

"We have to change you bandages Skipper, they're wet and could hurt more than help in their current condition," Kowalski informed.

"Can't you do it in the morning?" Skipper complained. He really wanted to sleep. His bed was calling to him beckoning him to lay upon it.

"No," Kiki answered. "We need to change it now."

Skipper rubbed his eyes. "Fine," He sighed. "But do it quick, I want to sleep."

So they gave Skipper new bandages and then everyone went to bed.

They next day they found out that they had been gone for three complete days and had the zoo workers in almost complete chaos trying to figure where they went. Once they were found to be at the zoo things slowly calmed down over the course of the day. They had to explain where they were again and again to everyone, of course no one believed them though.

"They don't believe us?" Destiny stated confused. Why wouldn't they believe them? They hadn't lied before.

Skipper nodded. "They never do. It's sometimes better if they don't."

And with that the conversation died down and things returned to normal for a week or two. And then they picked up yet again.

_**Crappy as crappy goes I know. It's more of a 'filler' if you will. Needed none the less. No worries though, I will do better next time. ^^ **_


	36. fluffy

_**Kitanna- I would put up pictures but I can't draw to save my life ^^ getting better though so maybe I will eventually. I guess if I start working on it now I'll have them doe perfectly in a year or two^^ Just kiddin. If you really are wishing me to I'll see what I can muster up^^**_

_**I've apologized so many times for late and overdue updates that I'm not even sure they matter anymore, but for what it's worth I really am sorry for making everybody wait. But it's been a few months close to a year I think since I've written anything so I think the creative juices in my brain have completely rebooted. It's up to you guys to say if I actually made something worth it here^^ I hope you enjoy this next chapter^^**_

Skipper was back to himself and healed within a month, but was left with three scars running along his chest. The rest of his cuts and wounds healed up nicely and the feathers grew back by the end of the month.

Nicky had side effects from the tests for two weeks afterwards while her system slowly got rid of the injected liquids. Spouts of pain, hallucinations, and nightmares when she slept.

"Hallelujah," Nicky said one afternoon. The regular spout of pain she'd usually have hadn't happened. It was a relief, because then what Kiki explained as her system running the injected stuff out of her body was finally finished. She'd have no more nightmares, hallucinations, or pain. That was awesome.

"Wha?" Rico asked confused.

"It stopped. It finally stopped," She replied happily.

Skipper looked down at his chest, staring at the three grey slashes that ran through it.

Destiny looked up at him. She knew how he must've felt having to carry the scars. She smiled at him. "Stop staring at them," she said calmly.

Skipper looked up at her. "You try having three scars etched onto your chest and see how much you like it," he shot back. He didn't want the constant reminder that he'd been used as a toy for a stupid dragon.

Destiny rolled her eyes and shook her head. He was never going to get over it.

Kiki and Kowalski had been trapped in Kowalski's lab trying to finish their latest invention…which had already blown up three times.

A loud explosion came from the lab, adding more black sot to the already blackened floor near the door of the lab.

"That's four," Nicky announced casually.

"When are they going to give up on that thing?" Cassy asked. They had been in the lab all night last night and all morning. When were they going to take a break?

"Knowing Kowalski, not until they're finished," Private replied. Kowalski never gave up on an invention, no matter how many times it blew up or shorted out.

"Yeah Kowalski never gives up. Ever," Rico added.

"Kiki's the same way," Nicky replied calmly.

"What?" Destiny asked confused. She didn't understand, what was Kiki the same way as?

"What?" Nicky asked. She didn't quite understand what Destiny wanted to know.

"What is Kiki the same way as?" Destiny asked.

"Kowalski," Nicky answered. Didn't Destiny hear Rico?

"OK… and?"

"They both never give up on an invention," Nicky said slowly. "Didn't you hear Rico?"

"Oh we heard him," Cassy stated. "But we didn't understand him," she looked over at Rico. "Sorry."

"Ah," Rico dismissed. He didn't really care, a lot of people didn't understand him. He had gotten used to it.

"It takes time to understand Rico," Skipper explained. "That, or determination. Either one works."

"Yup," Rico nodded.

Nicky eyed the bunks curiously. She wondered what it felt like sleeping in them. She climbed up into the top bunk. It was kinda comfy. "Hey, could you guys build some of these for us?" She asked getting comfortable. Oh yeah, she wanted one of these.

Rico smiled at her. They were comfy beds, once you got used to them. Nicky seemed to like them right away. He wasn't really surprised. He had liked the bunks right away too.

"Are they comfy?" Cassy asked walking over to the bunks. She pulled herself into one of them. They were comfy. Better than the floor anyway. She wanted one too.

"I guess we could," Skipper replied. He watched the girls in the bunks. It wouldn't really require much effort, and there was just enough room next to their before Kowalski's lab to fit more bunks. He took a sip of his coffee. Besides, the floor wasn't exactly a suitable sleeping place anymore. The girls had been in the zoo long enough, they deserved some real beds.

Kiki came out of the lab entirely blackened by the explosions except two circles around her eyes. "We finally got it!" She announced excitedly. They had finally finished the machine. It had blown up a few times, and they had to fix it, but they had finally finished it.

Kowalski came out rolling something under a blanket. It was the same height as himself, and only a couple of feet wide. "I give you our latest invention!" he pulled the blanket off revealing the machine.

"It looks like the time machine you made that went all out of whack," Private stated.

It did look the same. It had the same circular shape, but its base was bigger with a lot of different colored buttons on it. Off to the side of the circular part of the machine was a screen.

"So uh," Skipper asked looking at the machine, "What exactly is it?"

"We don't know," Kiki replied. She looked at the machine. She didn't want to tell them what it did just yet. She was ashamed that it turned out the way it did knowing Nicky. She tried to hide her shame but knew she wasn't doing a good job. She pushed her glasses back and looked down at the clipboard in her hands.

"Well..." Kowalski said carefully.

"We have an idea of what it might do," Kiki added cautiously.

Nicky jumped down out of the bunk. "And what's that?" She asked. She was curious to see what this latest invention could do. Kiki always made the most unusual things. Some of them were quite interesting, though most of them caused trouble. It was cause for an exciting lifestyle though, so he really didn't mind it.

"It's supposed to change you into a different animal from a different class," Kowalski explained.

"You lost me," Nicky replied. She had no idea what that meant. But she was curious.

"Well," Kiki took a deep breath, "Living things are classified in stages, Kingdom, phyla, class, order, family, genus, and finally species."

"For example," Kowalski continued scientifically, "Our species of penguins, assuming we are all the same, would be in the animal Kingdome, the chordate phylum, the Aves class, sphenisciformes order, spheniscdae family, pygoscelis genus, adelie species,"

"Now you lost all of us," Destiny stated. She had no clue what that was supposed to accomplish.

Kiki sighed. "The classification of the animal kingdom, as Kowalski was saying. We are in the class of Aves, or birds. So this machine is supposed to change us from birds to mammals, or fish, or…" she looked to Kowalski, "What other classes are there?"

Kowalski thought for a minute, "Reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods…I think."

"Arthropods?" Kiki asked. She didn't think that one was a class.

"Yeah, any animal with more than four legs. You know like insect's crustaceans and arachnids," Kowalski replied.

"Yeah yeah, ok can we come back from the science fair and get to this machine," Nicky interrupted. She didn't really care about what was a class and what wasn't. She just wanted to know what the machine did. "Fire this bad boy up. Let's see what it does."

"Wait a minute," Skipper said, interrupting Nicky's anxiousness. "This thing will do what?"

"It will change us from birds to mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, or arthropods," Kiki explained again. "Though I'm not too sure about the arthropod thing," She eyed Kowalski.

"Ah huh, ok." Destiny walked up to the machine. "You two do know how to work this thing right?" she asked looking over the machine. She didn't want it malfunctioning right now. They hadn't had a lot of trouble in the last few weeks. Just what Skipper described as the usual zoo problems. Arguments, thievery, squabbles, and let's not forget the lemur, Julian. He was a royal pain in the ass.

"Yeah," Kiki replied slowly. She didn't know the specifics they hadn't quite figured that out. They hadn't done a real test yet. But they were pretty sure what to do.

"Then fire it up already!" Nicky pushed anxiously. She was always curious to what Kiki's inventions did. They were never normal. But she was getting wrestles.

"The zoo closes in a few minutes," Destiny stated. "Let's wait, we don't want anything going wrong while there are still humans lurking around."

"Right," Kowalski agreed, "we still don't know specifically how to work this machinery so it's best if we do it when there's no one around."

"Fine, but you guys don't have to make it sound like the humans are waiting for us to mess up and expose ourselves," Nicky stated.

"Some of them are," Skipper replied.

Nicky stared at him. Why was he always so paranoid? She'd have to figure that out someday.

They waited until every human left, including Alice and the cleaning crew. When the zoo was emptied of all humans they tested the machine.

Kowalski started punching codes into the machine. While Kiki watched the screen for the results, making sure nothing went wrong, because something always did during the test runs.

And something did.

The screen jumped to life, opening many different windows with codes racing through each one. "Hold on, something's wrong," Kiki said focused on the screen. There was a small keyboard under the screen, she started to put different codes in trying to figure out and solve the problem. It wasn't working so well.

"What?" Kowalski asked hastily, standing up and looking at the screen.

"If this blows up-" Private started to ask.

"It's not an if, Private," Skipper interrupted. "It's a when and how intense. And then there are all those consequences to deal with."

"Well, when is a hopefully it won't, and how intense probably very, for there is a lot of power in this thing," Kowalski replied fearfully.

"Oh no, babe," Kiki stated still trying to solve the problem, "It's gonna blow." _And hopefully the consequences won't be so bad._ She thought desperately. She really hoped that this thing didn't do too much damage when it blew.

"Why, I thought you two knew how to control this thing," Nicky argued nervously. They did say that right? She wasn't so sure she might be hallucinating. She really hoped she wasn't. No she didn't want to get blown up but she would really like to know for sure that Jinks' experiments had fully left her body. She would like that a lot.

"We did too," Kowalski replied. He thought he basically knew almost everything about the invention. But this was why they were running a test. So they could know everything they needed to know about the machine.

The machine started beeping. Never a good sign for any experiment or machine or whatnot. Nope never a good sign. Beeping was usually a warning; it was the machines way of saying, 'help I'm going to explode, if you do not understand the steps necessary to fix me, promptly find the nearest exit and leave.'

"Kowalski how come half the things you invent always blow up!" Skipper shouted over the beeping. Every other invention Kowalski invented blew up and caused some kind of trouble. It was an expectation now, although he really thought this one would work. He was tired of the explosions and blobs of gelatinous goop or evil robots or ray guns that always went wrong. Unnecessary and utterly annoying to him, but always of some scientific use to Kowalski. He didn't get it. Maybe it was a scientist thing.

Kowalski turned around to Skipper. "None of them are supposed too!" he argued. It was true. None of his experiments were ever supposed to explode or go wrong, but they almost always did. Oh well, that is science. That's what multiple tests must be done before the final prototype can be made. It wasn't such a hard concept to grasp. He did agree that the constant exploding of serums and machines did get bothersome.

"Kiki?" Destiny asked cautiously.

"It's not working!" she shouted frustrated, banging on the now heated metal surface . How could it not work? They put so much effort and time into this thing! They checked and double checked and tripled checked almost everything. Consequences… If this thing blew up…

It did blow up. Before Kiki could even think of the consequences. It exploded with shuddering booms that shook the habitat, and probably the entire zoo. As it blew a black laser flew out from the circular part of the invention and ricocheted off of Skipper. The next thing anyone knew they were all sitting on their butts against the walls with severe headaches and new bruises that would probably start making their appearances in a half an hour or so. Well almost every one.

Skipper was sitting in the middle of the room with what used to be the invention. He had a killer headache and couldn't see straight. He held his forehead and stayed crippled over on the floor until the headache died down and his eyes could see again. He looked up and saw Nicky…rolling on the floor laughing. Private was sitting next to her wide eyed with shock. "What?" he asked confused.

Destiny tried to ingore everything , she was attacked by a killer headache that drowned everything out with an irritating ringing noise anyway. Standing up she felt her balance shift and suddenly working her legs to hold her up became a chore. She couldn't figure out what was wrong but she knew that whatever it was, the explosion from Kiki's invention gone haywire was most likely the cause.

Nicky continued to laugh being unable to help it. Skipper was fluffy and so funny looking. He didn't look anything like Julian, but he was most definitely a lemur. How sad for him, he had to live with Julian until Kowalski and Kiki could fix him, and Destiny wasn't any better. It was hilarious. She couldn't stop laughing. "You guys...you're… bah hahaaa!"

"Skippah…" Private said still shocked, "You're both…both..."

"Black and white ruffed lemurs…" Kowalski informed.

Everyone waited for their response to the news.

All Skipper heard was lemur. Lemur…like ringtail…like the most annoying creature he had ever met…lemur as in he was one…as in he would have to live in the lemur habitat until Kowalski could turn him back into a penguin…lemur…as in Julian…also known as hell…

He stood up and turned to Kowalski. He wanted to kill Kowalski- and Kiki but mostly Kowalski-for doing this to him. He wanted to rip his head off and it showed. It must have because Kowalski's eyes went wide.

"I-I'm sure we can f-fix this s-s-situation Skipper. No need to get upset," Kowalski stammered, picking up a nearby piece of scrap metal for protection. he inched his way over to Kiki.

"you sure about that?" Destiny questioned skeptically, rubbing her temples as the headache subsided, "how long will it take?"

Kiki picked up a notepad and began scribbling things down with a green crayon, mumbling to herself all the while. After a few moments of this she looked up, fixed her glasses and proclaimed, "At least a few weeks, two to three months longest, but we can't be certain. First we have to find out what went wrong, re-calibrate the reactor pods and get it up and operational. then we have to tinker with it a bit before we can figure out how to reverse the transformation." It shouldn't take us too long to rebuild the thing, tinkering with it is going to take the most time, that's the part i'm worried about."

Kowalski took a look at the notepad. "if we account for all possible mistakes it could take a bit longer than that," he added, "But i wouldn't worry to much."

Skipper sighed. He hated everything about ringtail, the mere thought...

"Well babe," Destiny stated, "looks like we'll have to relocate for a while." she smiled at him. "Let's go talk to Maurice." She grabbed his arm in hers and marched off to the lemur habitat.

_**Oh noes! ^^ I hope you enjoyed this long overdue chapie! ^^**_


End file.
